Facebook presents business figures to investors - IPO expected
Facebook has quietly released its financial results for the first time. Investors are hoping for the long-awaited initial public offering.
From January to September, Facebook achieved a profit of 355 million dollars - on sales of 1.2 billion dollars. According to SDA, this is little compared to the company's value, which is estimated at 50 billion dollars, but it corresponds to a return of almost 30 percent.
The data is in a good hundred-page prospectus from investment bank Goldman Sachs, which was distributed to potential investors on Thursday. According to a recipient, the financials are unaudited and offer little detail on how Facebook generates its revenue. Investors were required to sign a confidentiality agreement.
Goldman Sachs itself is investing $450 million in the social network and raising at least $1.5 billion from clients who want to join. The shares are selling like hot cakes: The house has received inquiries for stakes totaling "several billion dollars," the Wall Street Journal reported.
Investors are to invest at least $2 million each and pledge not to sell before 2013. By Friday, the now customers must decide whether they want to invest in the company founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg in a Harvard University dorm room and transfer the money by Tuesday.
Should the number of investors reach 500, Facebook would have to publish balance sheet figures like a listed company. This limit is likely to be exceeded this year, the Goldman Sachs document said. This is seen as a first step on the way to an IPO, which the industry is eagerly awaiting.
