NEW YORK, May 18: Facebook, world’s most popular social networking site, is all set to be the largest US company at its debut with market worth of USD 104 billion, more than companies like Amazon.Com, Disney and Kraft.
Facebook is aiming to raise USD 16 billion, pegging its value at USD 104 billion.
According to gloabl deal tracking firm Dealogic, Facebook will have the largest market value of any US company at the time of IPO, ahead of United Parcel Service (USD 60 billion – November 1999).
Facebook’s market worth would be “USD 81.2 billion on an undiluted basis and USD 104 billion on a fully diluted basis,” Dealogic said.
Globally, Facebook, would have the third highest market valuation for a company at the time of its IPO, behind Agricultural Bank of China (USD 133 billion) and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (USD 132 billion).
Facebook which priced its IPO at USD 38 per share—at the high end of the price band, would stand to mop up as much as USD 18.4 billion from the IPO, if extra shares reserved to cover additional demand are sold as part of the offering.
If the over allotment option is exercised in full, Facebook will become the second largest US IPO on record behind Visa’s USD 19 billion offering (2008) and the fifth largest IPO globally, Dealogic said.
Facebook’s USD 16 billion IPO tops the global internet related IPOs list, way ahead of Netherlands based World Online International NV’s USD 2.8 billion offering, Germany-based I Online International (USD 2.75 billion), Google’s USD 1.916 billion and Genuity Inc’s USD 1.913 billion, Dealogic said.
Facebook also tops the US listed Internet IPOs since 2011, with a valuation which is much ahead of Zynga Inc and Groupon Inc.
Facebook roped in financial giants like Morgan Stanley, J P Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank Securities to serve as book runners for the offering.
US listed IPOs total USD 29.1 billion in 2012 so far this year, up 19 per cent from USD 24.4 in the corresponding period a year ago.
Technology IPOs account for USD 18.0 billion in 2012 YTD, behind Oil & Gas (USD 3.0 billion) and Finance (USD 2.2 billion), Dealogic said. (PTI)