What is Facebook IPO?

What will happen with Facebook's private shares after the IPO?

• a multi part question: 1. Will these private shares be immediately available to sell on the market? e.g., Zuckerberg, Bono, et all will be able to sell their shares on IPO day at whatever the market price is 2. Is facebook actually issuing new shares and if so, how many? 3. how will this affect existing private holders? (how much dilution?) 4. Does anyone know how many shares Facebook has actually issued so far?

• Answer:

  Q 1 & 2: -After allotment, the shares will be available for sale throgh stock exchanges. THE IPO: -Facebook filed to raise $5 billion in an initial public offering. -It's not yet known on which stock exchange Facebook will trade, though it said it plans to use the ticker symbol "FB." -Facebook is likely to re-file its paperwork several times over the coming months. Those updates will add more details and could even restate some of the financial information detailed in filing. -In this initial paperwork, companies don't declare how many shares they're going to sell, or how much those shares will cost. Those details will be added in an updated filing shortly before trading begins. -Without that share price information, Face book's valuation is still speculative. -Facebook has its own guesses, though. The company said it conducted its own valuation of its stock at the end of each quarter, and as of December 31 determined it to be worth $29.73 a share. http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/01/technology/facebook_ipo/index.htm Q 3 & 4: According to one opinion, the real winners in Facebook’s upcoming public offering will be its current owners. Please see the ownership details at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/02/01/the-real-facebook-ipo-winners-sean-parker-and-bono/