San Francisco: Airbnb, the Internet home stay company which disrupted the hotel and travel industry, said it plans to make its stock market debut next year but offered few details.
Launched in 2008, the company is considered a “unicorn”, a start-up valued at more than $1 billion even before its initial public offering.
The stock launch comes in the wake of other highly anticipated Wall Street launches for companies in the “gig” economy, which have not been resounding successes. Ride-hailing service Uber is down about 24 per cent since the start of trading, and office sharing firm WeWork this week delayed its IPO as its valuation tumbled.
Investors have begun to question the business models for these startups, with many burning through capital and struggling to convince markets they can turn the corner. — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
