Facebook valued at $104B in secondary auction

In a prelude to its Wall Street debut, Facebook received a $104 billion valuation from private investors in a secondary market auction.

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The transaction, completed on secondary market SharesPost Friday afternoon, had a clearing price of $44.10 per share.

“SharesPost Financial Corporation completed its auction on March 30, 2012 of 150,000 units of an investment vehicle designated to hold shares of Facebook,” SharesPost said in an email to members. “We would like to thank the more than 1,100 institutions and individuals who participated in our Facebook auctions, resulting in total share and unit sales of more than $425,000,000.”

With a total count of 2.358 billion shares, including restricted stock units and options, according to private financial data company PrivCo, the transaction values the soon-to-IPO company at $104 billion.

Friday’s secondary market auction may be the last of its kind, as Facebook has permanently halted secondary market trading in preparation for its its pubic offering.

Facebook filed to become a public company on February 1, 2012. The company, which made $3.7 billion in 2011, is expected to start its IPO roadshow as soon as next week, and could debut on the public market as soon as late April.