Brian Chesky, CEO, Airbnb. Photo credit: Hubert Burda Media, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Online rental marketplace Airbnb has moved further on the path towards an initial public offering, with the company now splitting its shares 2-for-1 and its private valuation climbing about 10 percent, according to a report [paywalled] by Bloomberg. As reported by Bloomberg, Airbnb’s board of directors has approved a 2-for-1 share split that’ll begin reflecting in fiscal accounts by Tuesday. The company has also seen the value of its shares climb 10.4% from its last valuation as listed in compensation reports to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Before the split, Airbnb’s shares were valued at $63.15 apiece before climbing to $69.76 apiece as listed in compensation reports. Now with the 2-for-1 split, the company’s common shares amount to $34.88 per pop. Such a stock split reduces the price of shares for investors and is assumably being done to attract more investors in the case of an Airbnb IPO.

Airbnb’s valuation boost coincides with a business rebound after the coronavirus pandemic widely left negative effects on its business. The company had originally intended to kick off an IPO process earlier this year but halted after the Covid-19 pandemic dwindled its business and saw Airbnb pick up $2 billion in extra debt and equity funding to avert its financial hassles.

Airbnb is said to be seeking to raise as much as $3 billion on the public markets. Even before its listing, San Francisco-based Airbnb is already one of the most capitalized private companies, having raised some $5.4 billion in equity and debt funding since its inception.

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