Facebook hikes IPO price amid overwhelming stock demand
FACEBOOK yesterday raised the pricing range for its initial public offering (IPO) from $28-$35 to $34-$38 ahead of its listing this week.
The social network said strong demand, which caused it to close its order books several days early, drove the price up.
In an updated filing, Facebook said 337.4m shares will be sold – which at the top-range price of $38 would raise $12.82bn.
The updated price range points towards a market cap of $93bn on the lower end or up to $104.2bn on the higher end, catapulting Facebook to the most valuable US company to float.
This puts it in line with Amazon, which has a market cap of $100.4bn.
The flotation, which will see Zuckerberg’s eight-year-old company trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol FB, is set for Friday.
Morgan Stanley is heading the 33-strong team of underwriters.