Facebook files for IPO, looks to raise $5 billion

Zuckerberg opens up the booksInternet News By Chris Smith 12 hours ago | Tell us what you think [ 0 comments ]

Tweet The end of Facebook as we know it

After months of speculation, Facebook has officially filed for an IPO, paving the way for the company to become publicly traded for the first time.

The social networking giant will seek to raise $5 billion in cash with an Initial Public Offering of shares later this year.

The company, which now boasts over 800m members, did not specify the number of shares it will be offering or the price per share.

The floatation could value the company at anywhere between $75 and $100 billion.

Answering to shareholders

The IPO will be managed by a host of US financial institutions with Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Bank of America Corp., Barclays Plc and Allen & Co. all on board.

Facebook going public will see the maverick company and its single-minded CEO Mark Zuckerberg answer to shareholders for the first time.

However, if you think the Facebook IPO is simply a concern for the money men and has nothing to do with us simple 'end users' then have a read of TechRadar's Kate Solomon's column on the end of Facebook as we know it.

Latest tech giant to go public

Facebook's impending floatation on the stock market, which isn't likely to go through for next few months, makes it the latest in a series of high profile tech companies to begin selling shares.

Daily deal service Groupon, professional networking service LinkedIn, social gaming site Zynga and internet radio company Pandora all made a public offering in 2011.

Will Twitter be next in line?

Via: Bloomberg

Tags: Facebook, IPO, Wall Street, Stock market, Social networkTweetreddit!Stumbleupon  Tell us what you thinkYou need to Log in or register to post comments

By submitting this form you agree to our Terms of Use and so are legally responsible for anything you submit. DO NOT submit anything which may violate the Terms of Use or another person's rights including copyrighted or offensive materials.

Submit Explore News WebBroadbandVoIP Related News 5 billion songs shared on Facebook since SeptemberImminent Facebook IPO may value company at $100 billionTwitter and Facebook to get own media regulation?Zynga Bingo for Facebook announcedMandatory Facebook Timeline rolling out to all Facebook's going public: The party's over

Opinion: Why IPO is going to ruin the 'book

NEWESTMOST READMOST COMMENTED TECH NEWS HEADLINESGet your thinking caps on for James Dyson Award 2012How to set up your PC for great surround soundRicoh GXR 24-85mm camera unit announcedSamsung set to reboot Galaxy S2 for MWC 2012Apple iTV 'to land 2012 and to revolutionise market'Zynga is worth $445 million to FacebookFree maps cost Google France €500,000More TECH NEWS HEADLINES20 best mobile phones in the world today50 best free Android appsTop 50 best free iPad apps 2012Best netbook 2012: top 14 in the world todayBest compact system camera 2012: 18 reviewed and ratedTop 30 best free games you should play todayHands on: PS Vita review TECH NEWS HEADLINESiPhone 5 rumours: what you need to know (135)iPad 3 rumours: what you need to know (26)T-Mobile has changed the data game forever (14)Samsung confirms Galaxy S3 delay (11)Sky's ITV and BBC agreement is a huge deal (9)BB 10: What you need to know (6)'Truly unlimited' data plan announced by T-Mobile (5)

Find a review

Get more from TechRadar iPhone 5 rumours: what you need to knowiPad 3 rumours: what you need to know20 best mobile phones in the world todayHands on: Motorola Droid 4 review12 best Blu-ray players in the UK 2012iPhone 4SSamsung Galaxy NexusNokia Lumia 800Amazon Kindle FireSamsung Galaxy NoteNikon V1HTC RadarNikon J1iPhone 3GSHTC SensationSamsung Galaxy AceHTC Wildfire S TechRadar Poll

Does iPlayer on Sky make a difference to your life?

Yes, it will be amazing!I don't watch iPlayerNo, I watch iPlayer elsewhereNot a jot, I don't have SkyI might use it sometimes

Vote Results Where am I?Technology NewsTech newsApple newsMobile phone newsTablet newsTV newsCamera newsPC component newsPC newsLaptop newsInternet newsGadget newsGaming newsHome cinema newsHi-fi newsTechnology ReviewsDigital camera reviewsCamcorder reviewsMobile phone reviewsMP3 and iPod reviewsNetworking reviewsPC reviewsPC component reviewsLaptop reviewsTablet reviewsTV reviewsBlu-ray reviewsHi-fi reviewsTechRadarAbout usContact usSitemapReport this pageAccessibilityMedia enquiriesTerms and conditionsPrivacy policyAdvertising enquiriesJobsMore from TechRadarRegister & email newsletterFacebookTwitterYouTubeRSS feedsForumsPhone dealsSell your old mobileTechRadar Network3D RadarTap! magazineMacFormat magazinePC Format magazinePC Plus magazineLinux Format magazine

Copyright 2006 - 2011 Future Publishing Limited,
30 Monmouth Street, Bath, BA1 2BW, United Kingdom
England and Wales company registration number 2008885

Digital FutureBikeRadarT3MusicRadarGamesRadarPhotoRadar

Apple files patent to build speaker into iPod nano

Apple has filed a patent that details how it could insert a speaker into the iPod nano and iPod Shuffle.

The patent retains the two iPods' existing clip-on design, but adds a little speaker into the back bit of the clip.

Although the patent doesn't specifically name check either iPod, it does feature technical drawings that look mighty similar to both diminutive MP3 players.

Banano

The speaker wouldn't necessarily be up to much – it is so small that it couldn't offer much in the way of quality playback (although some folk on the bus are quite content with incredibly tinny drum'n'bass so you never know).

But perhaps it would come in handy for accessibility for the partially-sighted, or for audible feedback when using the tiny iPod nano touchscreen.

Another possibility is that Apple is considering shoe-horning Siri into every possible device, although we can't see the humble iPod nano or Shuffle being able to provide the kind of grunt the assistant app would need.

But Apple files patents for hundreds of bits and pieces of tech that never come to pass, so we're not banking on a be-speakered iPod nano coming to light any time soon.

The Spy Files - Wikileaks spin-off announced

At a press conference in London today, Julian Assange announced that a spin-off version of Wikileaks has been created to publish documents which refer to surveillance and privacy violations around the world.

Aptly called The Spy Files, the subsection of Wikileaks houses hundreds of documents which bring to light apparent spying on a global level and the technology used to intercept personal content.

The site has launched with a damning critique of the 'unregulated' world of spying and name checks the use of mobile phones and Facebook for surveillance use.

Watching the watchmen

"Mass interception of entire populations is not only a reality, it is a secret new industry spanning 25 countries," explained the blog post.

"The WikiLeaks Spy Files are more than just about 'good Western countries' exporting to 'bad developing world countries'.

"Western companies are also selling a vast range of mass surveillance equipment to Western intelligence agencies. In traditional spy stories, intelligence agencies like MI5 bug the phone of one or two people of interest.

"In the last ten years systems for indiscriminate, mass surveillance have become the norm. Intelligence companies such as VASTech secretly sell equipment to permanently record the phone calls of entire nations.

"Others record the location of every mobile phone in a city, down to 50 meters. Systems to infect every Facebook user, or smart-phone owner of an entire population group are on the intelligence market."

In all there are 287 files on the site, with Wikileaks hoping its site will open the world's eyes to the corporations benefiting from surveillance.

"The Wikileaks Spy Files reveal the details of which companies are making billions selling sophisticated tracking tools to government buyers, flouting export rules, and turning a blind eye to dictatorial regimes that abuse human rights."

Just because you are paranoid…

Related Stories

• Spotify: We've paid $150 million back to music industry
• Spotify announces music app store Spotify Platform
• Facebook status limit now 400 times bigger than Twitter's
• Gary Marshall: Spotify: superb, or superbly cynical?
• Hands on: Spotify Apps review