The Wall Street Journal reports that the $US5 billion Facebook IPO is set to go May 18 — maybe.
Earlier today, All Things Digital reported that Facebook’s SEC paperwork would clear this week. The WSJ says that Mark Zuckrberg, Sheryl Sandberg and David Ebersman will hit the road next week to pitch the IPO to investors — another report from CNBC says that this “roadshow” could begin as early as Monday. If all goes well, Facebook will move forward with the IPO. This new rumoured date is just a day later than an earlier report we’d heard.
By most accounts, a good IPO would raise Facebook $US5-$US10 billion, which would add up to an overall valuation of some $US75-$US100 billion.
There was also some speculation that the IPO could be delayed if Facebook could complete its acquisition of Instagram in time. Remember that all of these reports rely on unnamed sources. While they’re in line with previous speculation, we’ll believe it when we see it.
Sure this might be the most hotly-antcipated IPO in some time, but please remember that it won’t make you rich. [WSJ]