Facebook to go public in 2012?

Facebook is likely to go public sometime after late 2012, in what is likely to be one of the most highly anticipated initial public offerings of the decade.

Speaking to Reuters, Facebook board member, venture capitalist and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel said the flotation on the stock exchange is likely to happen in late 2012.
He added this would depend on the company hitting certain revenue targets and how its business model develops.
“It probably will IPO at some point. The lesson from Google seems to be that you don’t go public until very late,” Mr Thiel told Reuters on the sidelines of the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco yesterday.
Facebook is privately held and has released only nuggets of financial information.
With half a billion users and counting, it is closely watched by investors hoping to one day buy public shares in the fast-growing company.
Sources have told Reuters its revenue approached $800 million in 2009 and it was already profitable – a solid showing for a six-year-old service.
Still, the social network is increasingly challenging more established internet players such as Yahoo and Google for consumers’ online time and for ad dollars, even as it tries to strike a delicate balance between protecting privacy and promoting social sharing by its users.
Its backers now include Digital Sky Technologies, Microsoft, Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka Shing and venture capital firms Accel Partners, Greylock Partners and Meritech Capital Partners.
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