Facebook IPO: The Complete Guide. Facebook took social media by storm on Wednesday after the company filed the preliminary prospectus for its long-awaited initial public offering.
The company is seeking to raise $5 billion. SEE ALSO: Facebook IPO: Reactions from the Social Web (and Zuckerberg) Still not sure what all of this means? If you haven't already had a chance to read the document, we've embedded it below. For a breakdown on everything you need to know about Facebook's IPO, read further. Facebook May Be More Expensive Than Google. Facebook Inc. may command a valuation more than five times higher than Google (GOOG) Inc. as it seeks to raise $5 billion in the world’s largest initial public offering of an Internet company.
The social-networking company, which filed for the IPO yesterday, may be valued at as much as $100 billion in the sale, two people with knowledge of the matter said last week. At that level, the company would trade at 26.9 times 2011 sales, compared with about 5 times for search-engine operator Google, whose market value has jumped eight-fold since its IPO. “Google was an awesome IPO,” and its success since is the reason Facebook can come out at such a high valuation, said Tim Cunningham, who helps oversee about $75 billion at Thornburg Investment Management Inc. in Santa Fe, New Mexico. “That hope and potential is exactly why it’s potentially a $100 billion deal.”
The Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto. The Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto. Close Open Photographer: Jonathan Sprague/Redux AOL’s Fate. Well, Now We Know What Facebook's Worth—And It's Not $100 Billion. Who Killed the Facebook Skeptics? Google. The filing of the Facebook Prospectus has been greeted with the equivalent of the Hallelujah chorus of Handel's Messiah — all soaring trumpet, harmonious voices and thundering D-Major chords.
A great rejoicing among analysts, investors and journalists. Unto us a highly profitable company with killer margins, global reach and great potential is born. A $100 billion baby. It's the Zuck-potheosis. The reaction leaves me a little cold. Google killed them. Let me explain. There are a few reasons to be skeptical of the Facebook offering. Second, Facebook is an enormously successful company. Third, I still find the business a little problematic. So how did Google mute the Facebook skeptics?
Muscle memory is a powerful force in finance and opinion.