23 September 2016, USA :
The world’s fourth most valuable startup Airbnb raised $555 million in new funding at a $30 billion valuation.
Google Capital is Google’s investment arm for late-stage startups, and invests strategically. It’s led by David Lawee, who used to run mergers and acquisitions for the search giant.
As part of the funding efforts, Airbnb is allowing some employees to sell stock, which will total about $200 million, one of the people said.
Investors bought the employee stock at a discount—last year’s $93.09 a share price—because the common stock doesn’t grant investor protections like preferred stock does, the people said.
Airbnb sought new investors for this round and asked existing investors not to participate, two of the people said. As demand for this round was high, Airbnb was able to select investors deemed as strategic to the company’s broader goals, the people said. The Wall Street Journal reported in June that Airbnb turned down financial investors, including mutual funds who were willing to invest at a valuation as high as $34 billion.
Founded in August of 2008 and based in San Francisco, California, Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world — online or from a mobile phone or tablet. Source- WSJ