Not as much as we expected, but Facebook announced their IPO would be for $5 billion (not to say $5 billion is some loose change or anything, but the estimated offering was nearly twice the amount), with a stock exchange symbol of FB.
In a letter from Mark Zuckerberg, he wrote:
“At Facebook, we’re inspired by technologies that have revolutionized how people spread and consume information. We often talk about inventions like the printing press and the television—by simply making communication more efficient, they led to a complete transformation of many important parts of society. They gave more people a voice. They encouraged progress. They changed the way society was organized. They brought us closer together. Today, our society has reached another tipping point. We live at a moment when the majority of people in the world have access to the internet or mobile phones –d the raw tools necessary to start sharing what they’re thinking, feeling, and doing with whomever they want. Facebook aspires to build the services that give people the power to share and help them once again transform many of our core institutions and industries.”
Zuckerberg’s net worth was roughly $17.5 billion last year, and as investors continue to grow it is only expected to increase. Mashable reports “[he also] claims 56.9% voting power in Facebook and owns more than 1 billion shares in the company. The next on the list of top shareholders among company executive officers and directors is James Breyer, a venture capitalist who owns 201 million shares and has 11.4% voting rights in the company. Peter Thiel, another VC, has 44 million shares, which translates to 2.5% voting rights.”
This first step is an exciting move for Facebook’s aim to becoming the social network (wait, they weren’t already?), incorporating more socialization in every aspect and more sharing across the board.
(via Business Insider; photo via WowElle)
