Image: Tom Solari/techgeek.com.au
Social networking giant Facebook could launch its initial public offering of its stock somewhere between April and June of next year. This is according to a new report by the Wall Street Journal, who cites “people familiar with the matter” as their source.
The paper notes that the company is seeking to raise US$10 billion in the IPO. In doing that, it could raise its market value to more than US$100 billion. However, as noted by the article, the value very much depends on “the market and the European economy”.
It is currently in internal discussions on when it will launch the IPO, but CEO Mark Zuckerberg has not made any decisions on an exact date. However, it has written up a prospectus and that is ready to be made public at any time. In addition, it has not made any decisions on which banks it will involve in its IPO.
Facebook would join a long list of tech companies that have started selling their stock recent years like rival business-orientated social networking site LinkedIn, and deals site Groupon. However, based on recent performances, they are facing some difficulties in maintaining shareholder confidence. Facebook, however, might overcome that since they have a somewhat clearer business model as compared to Groupon and LinkedIn.
Though, I should point out that I am not a financial expert.