Airbnb spurns approach from Ackman’s blank-check company

Billionaire investor William Ackman has approached short-term home rental company Airbnb Inc about going public through a reverse merger with his blank-check company, according to people familiar with the matter.

The discussions are currently not moving ahead and Airbnb is prioritizing going public through a traditional initial public offering this year in what would be one of 2020’s most high-profile stock market debuts, the sources said.

Representatives for Airbnb and Ackman declined to comment.

Airbnb said last month it had filed confidentially for an IPO with US regulators.

The approach by Ackman’s Pershing Square Tontine Holdings Ltd underscores the scale and ambition of the types of deals Ackman is pursuing with the new vehicle, which raised $4 billion through an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this year to buy a private company.