Short-term home rental company Airbnb Inc. is close to confidentially filing paperwork for an initial public offering (IPO) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission later in August, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Airbnb is preparing to potentially go public before the end of the year, the report said, citing sources familiar with the matter.

An Airbnb spokesman declined to comment.

Reuters had reported in October that Airbnb was close to hiring Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc as joint lead advisers on its planned stock market flotation.

Airbnb last year announced plans to become a publicly listed company in 2020, making it one of the biggest names to pursue a stock market float this year.

The company's plans to go public come at a time when its core home-rental business has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced millions of people across the world to postpone their travel plans.

Earlier this year, Airbnb raised $1 billion in funding from private equity firms Silver Lake and Sixth Street Partners.