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FACEBOOK IS SET to file papers with US regulators later today and make a $5 billion initial public offering, according to numerous reports.
The social networking giant has selected Morgan Stanley and four other book-runners including Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital and JP Morgan to handle the IPO, targeting a sale of $5 billion of shares, according to Reuters which cites IFR.
The website is valued at up to $100 billion so the initial $5 billion target could be ramped upwards in the coming months if there is investor demand. Reuters says this ‘coming-out party’ would likely dwarf tech rival Google’s IPO of $2 billion.
Analysts expect it to be the biggest market debut in US history.
The public filing has been long anticipated by investors with those who own shares in the company, including founder Mark Zuckerberg, set to become instant billionaires.
Zuckerberg founded the social network in his dorm room at Harvard university eight years ago and currently owns 24 per cent of the company.
U2 duo Bono and The Edge would also likely become billionaires if there is a subsequent full stock market flotation with their investment vehicle owning a 1.5 per cent stake in the site.
The Telegraph reports that going public will provide several challenges for Facebook and its CEO Zuckerberg who will be under pressure to ensure quarterly results meet or exceed expectation among Wall Street investors.
Facebook will need to balance its need to deliver revenue from advertising while at the same time not turning off users who have in the past expressed concerns with how the information it shares with the website is used.
But investors are certainly looking forward to it.
“Pandemonium is what I expect in terms of demand for this stock,” says Scott Sweet, senior managing partner at IPO Boutique, an advisory firm. “I don’t think Wall Street would want to anger Facebook users.”
- additional reporting from AP
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The health service isn’t “overlooked”. It’s just terribly ran and inefficient.
@Seán Ó hAnnracháin: Agree the Irish Health Service consumes 11% of our GDP v 9% average for other EU countries. Transparency needed on unit production. How many total manhours per procedure (direct and all indirect) v international benchmarks? Please publish.
- 2 Tier Irish Health System is obscene.
- Belfast buses from West Cork for cataract operations.
Tidal wave of health and mental issue s will follow.
The worse is yet to come.
‘Overlooked’ as in intentionally underfunded to scare people into the arrms of private health insurance companies.
“That’s the standard technique of privatization: defund, make sure things don’t work, people get angry, you hand it over to private capital” – Noam Chomsky
@The Risen: Funding has increased by 1/5 over the past 5 years, so the HSE is definitely not being “underunded”, but epically mis-managed. But don’t let facts get in the way of your little rants.
@The Risen: it’s a thought but I don’t really think so there are a lot off buffoons in charge
@The Risen: nothing underfunded about our health service… It’s run by a bunch of interest groups who are more concerned with their share rather than the health of the nation. Top heavy management that wasn’t thinned out in the move from Health Boards to the HSE maintains the lack of value and continuing inefficiency of any investment. Hospitals owned or managed by “patrons” despite being funded and developed by the state limit the mobility and efficiency of trained staff. Working practices designed to ensure as much staff as possible are paid at higher levels and a ridiculous consultant contract all contribute to ensure that any individual procedure actually costs more than the equivalent in a private setting, any of the double jobbing consultants will confirm this.
@The Risen: You say this because the HSE SHOULD BE a leftists’ wet dream – a big public sector (union dominated) organisation running our health system for the benefit of the public. But it’s a disaster. But that’s ok, because just blame the mean Gov or those evil capitalists. Hate to burst your bubble, but the HSE is the way it is because it is dominated by public sector vested interests (i.e Unions). There is no real accountability. There is no desire from within for change and any significant change is fought tooth nail because the status quo suits the special interests (i.e PS unions)- they’ve carved it out this way. At least if you’re paying for a service, the provider has an interest in providing you a good service. The HSE bureaucrat has no such interest, they are paid regardless.
All future governments will tie up the banking crisis borrowings with loans from Covid and will blame “Covid” for everything for years to come.
What health service as its near impossible to even see a GP these days
have your say