Airbnb aims for about $35 billion valuation in long-awaited IPO

Airbnb Inc. and existing investors are seeking to raise as much as $2.6 billion in a long-awaited initial public offering expected to cap one of the busiest years ever for U.S. listings.

The home-rental platform and some shareholders are offering 51.9 million shares at $44 to $50 apiece, San Francisco-based Airbnb said in a filing Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The filing also addresses the key question of Airbnb’s valuation as a public company. It would have a fully diluted market value of nearly $35 billion at the top end of the indicative range. That figure includes employee stock options as well as restricted share units.