Facebook could file IPO papers this week

PRIVACY SHREDDING social network Facebook could be going public by the end of the week, with pundits expecting the market to value Facebook at between $75bn and $100bn.

Facebook has been widely rumoured to file its initial public offering (IPO) in 2012 for many months and insiders told the Wall Street Journal that Zuckerberg and friends could submit IPO papers this week. In pole position to underwrite the deal is investment bank Morgan Stanley.

Facebook's IPO is expected to value the firm somewhere between $75bn and $100bn while bringing in $10bn for the firm. That would surpass Google's IPO that raised $1.9bn and valued the firm at $23bn.

Last year Goldman Sachs led a closed auction of Facebook shares, generating billions for the firm. While this time it looks like Morgan Stanley will take the lead, Goldman Sachs won't be far behind, lending a hand.

According to the WSJ, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckeberg preferred taking Facebook public instead of being forced to disclose financial information due to the number of shareholders swelling to over 500. Although Facebook will have to release financial information after an IPO, Zuckerberg is thought to have wanted to benefit from the cash an IPO will generate.

It's expected that Facebook's IPO will generate considerable interest from investors wanting a piece of arguably the biggest internet firm to go public in the last decade. Whether Facebook's stock will retain its value is unclear, given that recently IPO'd social network Linkedin's shares have fallen by as much as 40 per cent from its post-IPO high. µ