Airbnb Inc. lined up investors for a new funding round and an employee stock sale that will value the room-rental website at up to $30 billion and help defer an initial public offering, said people familiar with the matter. The San Francisco company plans to raise between $500 million and $1 billion from more than a half dozen large, investors in the coming weeks, the people said. The deal is expected to value Airbnb at about $30 billion, up from $25.5 billion a year ago. ...
Airbnb’s recent rallying for a funding round and employee stock sale, which values the company at up to $30bn, was to help the company avoid going public, according to the WSJ. The company’s valuation has been boosted by its ability to use data from users in order to improve its search results, as well as its acquisition of travel site Hipmunk, which it plans to integrate into