Facebook to seek $10 billion IPO in 2012: reports

Facebook is expected to finally go public in 2012, with hopes of the company value reaching $100 billion or more, sources told the Wall Street Journal.

Mark Zuckerberg’s social network will mostly likely target a time between April and June 2012 for an initial public offering, the WSJ reported. Facebook is hoping to raise $10 billion in its IPO, making it one of the largest offerings ever, which would give the site a $100 billion valuation.

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If Facebook in fact reaches this value, it would be twice the number of Hewlett-Packard Co. and 3M Co., WSJ reported. It would also be four times the market capitalization that Google Inc. had at the time of its 2004 IPO, the Associated Press reported.

When going public, Facebook’s value will finally be revealed since companies with at least $10 million in assets and more than 500 shareholders are forced to disclose quarterly results. The requirement kicks in 120 days after the fiscal year in which a company exceeds the shareholder threshold for the first time, the AP reported.

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As the Facebook IPO saga continues, investors have been waiting for he chance to buy into social networking giant. In recent interviews, Zuckerberg and chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg have said the company plans to go public. This past May, Zuckerberg said an IPO was inevitable, the Washington Post reported.

The timing of Facebook’s IPO in 2012 is likely paired with the condition of the stock market after a year of disappointing IPOs, such as from Groupon Inc., which recently plunged, the Los Angeles Times reported. On Monday Groupon’s stock closed at $15.24, below the $20 price at which it sold shares to investors earlier this month, the LA Times reported.

Currently, Infineon Technologies AG holds the record figure for a technology IPO at $5.23 billion in 1999, the Washington Post reported. Visa had the largest IPO in American history, raising $19.6 billion in 2008.

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