Short-term accommodation rental platform Airbnb and messaging platform developer Slack, two US-based, corporate-backed companies, are exploring a direct listing on public markets, Recode reported on Monday.
The process would involve each business eschewing the traditional method of going public through an initial public offering by hiring banks to underwrite the issue of new shares, instead allowing existing shareholders to trade their stock on a public exchange.
The news contradicts separate reports this week that Slack had hired investment bank Goldman Sachs as lead underwriter for an IPO.
Airbnb’s chief executive, Brian Chesky, is said to have discussed the possibility of a direct listing with Daniel Ek, chief executive of music streaming platform Spotify, the only venture-backed company to have completed the process so far.
Founded in 2008, Airbnb operates a peer-to-peer short-term accommodation marketplace. It has raised approximately $3.4bn to date and was valued at $31bn as of its last funding round, a $1bn series F closed in March 2017.
The series F round featured CapitalG, the growth equity arm of internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet, Chinese sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp, Technology Crossover Ventures and 37 other investors.
The company’s shareholders also include Singaporean state-owned investment firm Temasek, Hillhouse Capital, China Broadband Capital and Horizons Ventures.
Slack has created a workplace messaging service with some 8 million daily active users. It is reportedly targeting a valuation of more than $10bn for its flotation, up from the $7.1bn at which it closed a $427m series H round in August this year.
The series H round was co-led by Dragoneer and General Atlantic while Baillie Gifford, Sands Capital, funds advised by Wellington Management and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price also contributed.
Slack has raised $1.27bn to date and its earlier investors including Comcast Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of mass media group Comcast, telecommunications conglomerate SoftBank and GV, another subsidiary of technology conglomerate Alphabet.
Other shareholders include Accel, DST Global, Spark Capital Growth, Index Ventures, Social Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Andreessen Horowitz, Horizons Ventures and Institutional Venture Partners.
