Facebook IPO seen coming in spring
Facebook IPO seen coming in spring - Wondering when the great Facebook initial public offering is coming? Try the second quarter of 2012 market conditions permitting, The Wall Street Journal said late Monday. The social-networking company is in talks with the Securities and Exchange Commission about the timing of the IPO. There is a chance the first filings will come this year, the Journal said.
The Journal said Facebook is thinking about an IPO that would raise $10 billion and theoretically value the company at more than $100 billion.
That would make the company among the 40 most valuable companies in the world -- on par with Toyota Motor (TM 0.00%), Verizon Communications (VZ 0.00%) and Merck (MRK 0.00%).
The Journal based its report on conversations with several sources, adding the caveat that final decisions have not yet been made.
The final value of the company -- the value used to price shares - and how much money it seeks in an IPO will largely be determined by the market and the European economy, the Journal said.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has in the past publicly expressed reluctance to do an IPO. And he has opted to keep Facebook private longer than many suspected he would. But he is warming to the idea, the Journal said.
The social network, which was started by Zuckerberg in 2004 out of his Harvard dorm room, has helped reshape how people share information and interact with others on the Web. It now counts 800 million users, with 500 million users logging into the site daily.
Facebook's IPO would come amid a spate of other hot Web IPOs this year, like daily-deal site Groupon (GRPN 0.00%), LinkedIn (LNKD 0.00%) and an expected IPO from social-game maker Zynga. But none of those will compare in size, scale and investor demand with Facebook, which is one of the most highly anticipated IPOs ever.
The disappointing showing of Groupon's stock, which has fallen below its $20 IPO price in recent trading, may make some investors cautious about a Facebook IPO.
Groupon has fallen nearly 42% in the past five trading days after initially surging in the first two weeks after the IPO earlier this month. It is now 23.8% below its $20 IPO price.
via: msn
