Facebook Targets May 17th IPO

The inside sources are saying that the day is quickly approaching. Sources close to the company have let the news leak that Facebook is eying its IPO on May 17th. A lot will depend on whether the SEC agrees that Facebook has met all the Federal filing requirements concerning its business and the acquisition of Instagram.

When Facebook filed its first forms with the SEC the original talk was that Facebook would be looking for a mid May IPO.

According to sources reported on TechCrunch, Facebook will be valued at around $100 billion, reflecting current levels of trading in the secondary markets. The secondary markets are not regulated by the SEC. The reports also say that Facebook is looking to raise $10 billion at a valuation of $100 billion.

TechCrunch says its sources are saying,

“Investors want as high a price as possible so that the secondary market won’t look like a problem,”

With 2.51 billion fully-diluted shares outstanding, the valuation desired would price the company at around $40 a share.

We’re also hearing that the Millennial Media IPO was pushed up to early April because Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, which were underwriting both offerings, wanted to “make room” for Facebook.

The analysts are saying to be on the lookout for the IPO and have your checkbook handy if you want to get in. But it is early and there is a lot that can happen in the next four weeks. There is still a debt crisis going on in Europe and with oil price instability there is always the chance that Facebook could delay.