Facebook Looking At IPO In October: Report

Facebook is preparing to file for an initial public offering as early
as October or November that could value the popular social networking
site at more than $100 billion, financial news channel CNBC reported
on Monday.

Goldman Sachs is leading the chase to manage the lucrative offering,
which could come in the first quarter of 2012, CNBC said.

With more than 500 million users, Facebook is the world's most popular
Internet social network and one of the most hotly-anticipated initial
public offerings on Wall Street

Facebook, whose chief operating officer last month told Reuters that
an IPO was "inevitable," declined to comment on the latest report
about its timing for an offering.

Anticipation about a Facebook's future plans comes at a time of
heightened investor appetite for shares of fast-growing social
networking companies.

Professional networking site LinkedIn Corp launched its own IPO last
month, valuing the company at about $7 billion.

Earlier this month, daily deals site Groupon Inc filed to raise up to
$750 million in an IPO, fueling speculation that Internet valuations
have become too rich.

Founded in a Harvard dorm room in 2004 by the now 27-year-old Mark
Zuckerberg, Facebook threatens Internet companies like Google Inc and
Yahoo Inc as it becomes a popular online destination for Web surfers
and an important marketing channel for advertisers.

Facebook was valued at $50 billion earlier this year when Goldman
Sachs invested in the company.

Recent transactions of Facebook shares on the secondary market have
valued the company between $78 billion and $81 billion, according to
information on the website of Sharespost, an exchange for trading
shares in private companies.

Facebook is expected to generate roughly $4 billion in advertising
revenue in 2011, up from $1.86 billion a year earlier, according to
market research firm eMarketer.

Reference:-http://ibnlive.in.com/news/facebook-looking-at-ipo-in-october-report/159101-11.html