Chances are, anyone in your office even remotely interested in tech or business is going to be talking about Facebook’s IPO today. If you’re feeling a little out in the cold, don’t worry. We’ve got your back. Here’s everything you need to know about the Facebook IPO in a nutshell.
- The social network’s initial public offering consists of 421 233 615 shares.
- Shares will start trading at US$38 apiece. Predict the closing price.
- There are two classes of Facebook stock. Class A stock is worth one vote, and is available to the public to buy on the open market. Class B stock is worth 10 votes per share and is only available to select individuals and investors.
- Facebook is offering 180 000 000 shares of Class A common stock and selling stockholders are offering 241 233 615 shares of Class A common stock.
- Mark Zuckerberg owns 57.1% of Class B stock and therefore retains voting control.
- Zuckerberg owns a total of 533 801 850 shares in Facebook. That’s a 28.4% stake in the company.
- Zuckerberg will sell shares worth approximately US$1.5-billion in the IPO, with his personal stake being worth about US$19.1-billion. See who gets what.
- Facebook will raise approximately US$16-billion with its IPO. US$6.84-billion for the company itself and the rest for investors.
- Visa Inc. raised US$17.9-billion in its 2008 IPO, the most in U.S. history. Facebook raised the second highest amount in history.
- With Facebook’s IPO, the company is now valued at US$104.2-billion, making it the largest company to go public, ever.
- Microsoft’s 1.6% share in Facebook implies a value of around US$15-billion.
- With the IPO, Facebook will become the 23rd largest U.S. company by stock market capitalisation. Larger than Amazon.com Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc.
- Facebook is one of the few companies among recent internet startups to be profitable at their IPO. In 2011, Facebook posted a profit of US$1-billion and US$3.7-billion in sales.
- At IPO Facebook’s market value is about half the size of Google’s which is worth more than US$200-billion. To hand shareholders the same returns as Google, Facebook would have to be worth about US$920-billion by 2020.
- Facebook will start trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market at 11AM Eastern Time under the “FB” symbol.
Check out more fascinating Facebook numbers on ZDNet and GigaOM.
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