Facebook Puts IPO Valuation At $107 Billion
As Facebook rockets towards it’s IPO (Initial Public Offering), the social networking giant reports that it may actually be worth a record $107 billion.
The IPO price of $38 per share was announced on Thursday evening, in preparation for it’s debut on Friday. The amount, which makes the company worth more than $100 billion, will make it the biggest tech IPO in history.
Daily Finance reports that the social networking site has had 33 banks working on the offering, trying to determine exactly how much the company is worth.
The announcement on Thursday evening essentially means that, if he wanted, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg could buy 16 more Instagrams–with cash.
According to the L.A. Times, Francis Gaskins, editor of IPOdesktop.com in Marina del Rey states that:
“There’s never been a company that’s gone from inception to IPO with this kind of valuation…It’s a rocket ship that’s taken off.”
Facebook’s IPO is set to come the day after the Dow Jones industrial average sank byu 156.06 points, or about 1.2 percent, to 12,442.49. The NASDAQ composite, where Facebook will make its Friday May 18th debut, saw a 60.35 loss, about 2.1 percent, to 2,813.69.
The social-networking giant’s IPO has been the most highly anticipated technology debut since Google in 2004.
ABC News reports that all of Facebook’s 421 million shares will be sold on Thursday night to all investors who meet the minimum buy-in requirement, which Morgan Stanley will ultimately determine, according to Jim Krapfel, and IPO analyst for investment firm Morningstar.
Krapfel went on to say that:
“The higher your account size and the more business you do with the company, or if your track record indicates you purchased technology IPOs in the past, you’re more likely to receive shares and are likely to get a higher allocation, but there’s no guarantee.”
Facebook’s IPO is set for Friday, May 18th at 11a.m. Eastern time, which is an hour and a half after the NASDAQ officially opens for the day.
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