Facebook Announces plans For $5 Billion IPO
By Ian Bush
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Facebook has announced plans to go public -- and the company is hoping to raise five billion dollars in its initial offering of stock a few months from now. The company has filed papers with market regulators, and it's giving consumers a glimpse into a previously secret world.
We knew Facebook's reach was far and wide, but how about these numbers: every day, 483 million active users. 2.7 billion 'likes' and comments. 250 million photos uploaded.
Mark Zuckerberg is a long way from eating microwave noodles in his Harvard dorm room. His company earned nearly $700 million last year, and he made more than a million bucks. After the IPO, it's thought he'll have more than $28 billion worth of stock. So he can afford to have his salary cut to a buck next year. And his take includes hundreds of thousands of dollars for private jets for him, his family and friends.
The IPO could mean a Double Mint for those Winklevoss twins who claimed Facebook was their idea. They could make more than $225 million.
If you're checking Facebook on a smartphone or tablet, you're not alone: the company says mobile growth is outpacing computer viewing. But in their S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Facebook warns of no 'meaningful revenue' from their mobile product, because it's ad-free. That's very likely to change.
And if the social network hopes to live up to an estimated $100 billion market valuation, it'll have to reassure investors that it'll keep reaching well beyond display ads to bring in gobs of cash.
