Economic Calendar

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Facebook Said to Begin IPO Road Show as Soon as Next Week

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By Brian Womack - May 2, 2012 4:56 AM GMT+0700

Facebook Inc. (FB), owner of the world’s most popular social-networking service, expects to begin marketing its initial public offering to investors as soon as next week, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The person declined to be identified because the plans haven’t been made public. Facebook executives will use the so- called road show to outline their business to prospective investors, a process that typically ends within about two weeks.

A collage of profile pictures in the break room at the new Facebook Data Center on April 19, 2012 in Forest City, North Carolina. Photographer: Rainier Ehrhardt/Getty Images

May 1 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg’s Cory Johnson reports that Facebook will begin marketing their share sale as soon as next week. He speaks with Bloomberg’s Emily Chang on Bloomberg Television’s “Bloomberg West.” (Source: Bloomberg)

That timing indicates that Facebook could complete the IPO before the end of the month, after filing an updated S-1 with regulators by the end of this week. Facebook filed in February for an IPO that could give it a value of $75 billion to $100 billion, people with knowledge of the plans have said. The Menlo Park, California-based company, which has more than 900 million users, is seeking $5 billion in what would be the largest Internet IPO on record.

Facebook executives would use the road show to discuss growth prospects that lifted sales 45 percent to $1.06 billion in the first quarter. They’ll also face questions over the rise in costs that trimmed net income 12 percent to $205 million in the March period.

The company plans to list its shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market and plans to trade under the symbol “FB.”

Jonathan Thaw, a spokesman for Facebook, declined to comment. The technology blog AllThingsDigital earlier reported that the road show may start next week.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Womack in San Francisco at bwomack1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net



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