Facebook eyes $10-bn IPO, valuation may exceed $100 bn: report

Facebook is planning a $10-billion initial public offering (IPO) between April and June 2012, hoping that the social networking site would be valued at more than $100 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified people close to the matter.

The IPO, which would be one of the largest offerings ever, and the largest by any technology or internet company, would go against Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's publicly expressed views that he would like to keep the company private for as long as he can.

Facebook is now in internal discussions over the timing of its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and is considering filing dates as early as this year, the report said, adding that Zuckerberg had not made any final decisions.

Facebook's $100-billion valuation would be twice of what it was when it raised $1.5 billion from Goldman Sachs and other investors in January (See: Facebook raises $1.5 bn in new, Goldman-led funding). According to SharesPost Inc, which handles trading of closely held companies, Facebook is currently valued at $66.6 billion.

David Ebersman, the CFO of the Palo Alto-based company, has discussed a public float with Silicon Valley bankers, but is skeptical over what contribution investment banks could make to a Facebook IPO.

But going against all norms, the world's largest social networking site has drafted an internal prospectus and was ready at any moment to go for a flotation, the WSJ said.