Social network giant Facebook is allegedly targeting May 17 as the potential date for its initial public offering, according to a TechCrunch report that cites unnamed sources familiar with the company.
The IPO date might be off depending on how much time federal regulators need to review Facebook’s recent $1 billion acquisition of mobile-photo-sharing startup Instagram.
And speaking of Instagram, some have speculated that the $1 billion deal was structured around the idea that Facebook shares would be worth more after they began trading publicly. On that assumption, Facebook agreed to pay 30 percent cash and 70 percent in stock. Sources from both TechCrunch and the New York Times indicate that Facebook is looking to raise around $10 billion from the stock sale, with valuation as high as $104 billion.
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At that value, Facebook would be very close to trading at the same levels it was hitting while trading on the secondary market, pricing the social network at about $40 per share.
But with the alleged May 17 IPO date just under a month away, we’re bound to hear more about it between now and then. Stay tuned.
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