Facebook to launch roadshow for mega-flotation next week
FACEBOOK could set off on its IPO roadshow as early as Monday, paving the way for the biggest internet flotation ever.
The SEC is set to approve the offering imminently, meaning the social network will be able to start pitching its stock to potential investors.
Sources have set 18 May as a likely date for the listing, which will be on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol FB.
It is also believed that Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s 27-year-old founder and chief executive, will appear at meetings during the roadshow to present his company.
The Harvard dropout irked Wall Street when he failed to show up to analyst meetings in March, passing the duty to chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg and finance director David Ebersman.
Following months of bubbling speculation, Facebook filed for its IPO on 1 February, revealing plans to raise $5bn.
The eight-year-old website has since updated its SEC submission with details of its patent spat with Yahoo and its $1bn acquisition of photo-sharing app Instagram.
It is expected that investor appetite for Facebook shares will be strong. But the company has come under fire for its governance structure, which will see Zuckerberg control 57 per cent of the voting share.
The social network will also face questions about its income. In its first earnings slide in at least two years, Facebook’s recent first quarter profits fell by 12 per cent from the same period last year.