DailyTech - Facebook to Raise $10 Billion for 2012 IPO; Company Value Could Double HP's

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Internet Facebook to Raise $10 Billion for 2012 IPO; Company Value Could Double HP's
Tiffany Kaiser - November 29, 2011 12:07 PM

23 comment(s) - last by MrBlastman.. on Dec 2 at 10:10 AM

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (Source: thedailywh.at)

Facebook hopes to be valued at $100 billion

While many details are still up in the air, it has been revealed that social networking giant Facebook is anticipating a 2012 initial public offering.

Facebook, which has achieved 800 million users in its mere seven years of existence, is considering raising $10 billion in hopes of the company being valued at $100 billion, according to Reuters.

Sources close to the talks told The Wall Street Journal that Facebook has drafted an internal prospectus and that a S-1 filing could come before the end of 2011.

Also, Facebook's Chief Financial Officer David Ebersman has discussed the IPO with Silicon Valley bankers. However, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has not decided on any bankers to manage the IPO. Zuckerberg also hasn't made any final decisions on terms.

Many previously thought Facebook would go public in 2011, but a shaky economy and a battle with the U.S. government over privacy-related issues has pushed the IPO until 2012.

The IPO looks to be a good move for Facebook, as it would allow the social beast to make more acquisitions, work on new projects, and attract more engineers.

In the first six months of 2011, Facebook reported $1.6 billion in company revenue. With a potential company value of $100 billion, Facebook would double the valuation of Hewlett-Packard.

Sources: Reuters, Washington Post