Facebook's hour of financial glory dawns

Facebook is expected to file an IPO today that could both value the social networking phenomenon at up to $100bn and make it the biggest technology flotation in history.

 

The world's biggest social networking site is expected to raise about $10bn through the flotation, with the floatation likely to earn Mark Zuckerberg, who founded Facebook from his room at Harvard University in 2004, a paper profit of several billion dollars.

 

However, the IPO will also provide a fascinating insight into the finances of a company that until now have been shrouded in secrecy. The flotation will also put Facebook's efforts to turn users into cash under greater scrutiny than ever before, prompting a general evaluation by commentators and public alike about the impact of social media.

 

Advisers to the company are expected to earn several hundred million dollars from the IPO. Morgan Stanley, which helped bring networking site LinkedIn and online video game pioneer Zynga to market last year, is expected to have a lead role alongside Goldman Sachs. Fees are likely to run into hundreds of millions of dollars.