We all know by now that Facebook is pretty huge and will be getting even bigger in the near future. And we also know how rich the company is (as evident by their $1 billion acquisition of Instagram). But now, another piece of their financial puzzle has been revealed that shows that in the immediate future, both the world’s largest social network and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, are set to become even richer! Yes, that’s right, D-day has arrived… multiple sources have told TechCrunch’s co-editor Alexia Tsotsis that Facebook is set to go for their IPO on May 17 (in about a month!).
But don’t start trying to find all that loose change in your sofa in an attempt at going after a piece of the IPO–the May 17 date is apparently still in flux and depends on whether the SEC filing holds muster and gets approved. But the signs seemed to be there. Ms. Tsotsis reported that there was news that Facebook would be making its debut on the NASDAQ stock exchange in the third week of May and cited another source telling CNBC that the public date was going to be either May 17 or 24.
Perhaps one of the hottest companies to go public in 2012, or maybe even in this decade, Facebook is rumored to be gunning for a $100 billion valuation and people are reporting they wish to raise $10 billion in capital. With the historic Instagram purchase by Facebook, it will be interesting to see how their stock price skyrockets. One can only speculate that once Facebook goes public, those lucky enough to get in on the IPO will certainly buy the stock (because you can’t exactly sell stocks you don’t have) and hold onto it until the next day and then sell it soon after and make out on millions of dollars. Sure, that’s all a guess, but you can’t tell me that it’s never happened. Or, perhaps the stock price difference could be a sign of the investors’ thoughts at the Instagram acquisition–were investors happy with the $1 billion buy or would they withhold simply because they wanted to voice their displeasure? It’s probably highly improbable to think that investors would withhold money from an IPO just because they weren’t happy with the deal…I mean, who would pass up on money?
We will wait and see whether this May 17 date is true or not. If it is, within a month, we’ll most likely see some very brand new and happy millionaires coming out of Menlo Park. Oh, to be at Facebook headquarters when Mark Zuckerberg and his team ring the bell to open morning trading. I’m sure there’s going to be lots of “likes”.
Image Credit: “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” via Zap2It.com
About the Author
Ken Yeung
Editor-in-Chief of Bub.blicio.us and an accomplished interactive producer in the San Francisco/Silicon Valley area interested in all things tech and marketing. Whether it’s gadgets, startups, or related issues, he’s eager to learn about it. From attending local and national conferences to appearing at events, parties, and other meetups, Ken is interested in sharing what he sees.
Oh, and he’s an accomplished photographer too, having been commissioned by Mashable, TechCrunch, TechSet, SXSW, BlogWorld, and many more.
Visit Ken’s page at thelettertwo.com.