Airbnb plans to file IPO paperwork later this month and could begin trading by the end of the year, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday , citing people described as familiar with the matter. The short-term home rental service, which had been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic and the abrupt halt of travel, has seen a rebound in rental bookings as people take getaways closer to home, if at all. If the 12-year-old company does go public, it would enter a welcoming IPO market that has seen big offerings from the likes of insurance startup Lemonade Inc. /zigman2/quotes/219257798/composite LMND -10.27% and music label Warner Music Group Inc. /zigman2/quotes/218669580/composite WMG +1.26% amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Journal -- which stressed that Airbnb's timeline for a public offering could change -- noted that the San Francisco-based company was recently valued at $18 billion, down from as high as $31 billion some three years ago. Morgan Stanley /zigman2/quotes/209104354/composite MS +1.20% will lead the offering, and Goldman Sachs /zigman2/quotes/209237603/composite GS +1.63% will also be involved, the Journal said.









