Facebook Files for $5 Billion IPO
The moment the tech world has been waiting for has arrived—Facebook has officially filed registration documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial amount of $5 billion.
Morgan Stanley has been chosen as the lead bookrunner on the IPO prospectus, but Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Corp, Barclays Allen & Co. and JP Morgan are also underwriting the deal, which did not specify the number or price of shares Facebook will offer.
Depending on investor demand, Facebook may raise the amount, but its current $5 billion filing is already the largest Internet IPO in history. According to reports, Facebook has gained over 800 million worldwide users and had revenue of around $4 billion last year.
Unsurprisingly, according to the regulatory filing, the tech company plans to list its shares under the symbol FB.
Overall, 2011 was a huge year for social-media IPOs, as we saw LinkedIn, Pandora, Groupon and Zynga all selling shares. Bloomberg reports that 2011 was the biggest year for Internet IPOs in the U.S. in more than a decade—19 companies raised $6.6 billion last year, but 101 companies raised $11 billion in 2000.
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