The Philippine Online Chronicles

In a few hours, social networking service Facebook is expected to file a prospectus for an initial public offering (IPO) of USD5 billion, with an overall company valuation of USD75–100 billion.

The deal, which is less than the USD10 billion predicted last week, is said to indicate a decision to start with a conservative base to gauge investor interest and then opt to increase. The IPO is the largest in US tech history, eclipsing Google's own USD2.7 billion filing (and subsequent raising of USD1.7 billion) in 2004.

Facebook's decision to go public is said to stem from its alleged 500 private investors, a milestone which, when met, must be followed with public financial statements, according to US law. The company plans to debut in May.

Facebook has exhibited exponential growth in the past few years, growing from 50 million users in 2007 to 800 million in 2011. The service has several factors on its side to promote active interest by investors, the most important being its vast collection of personal data, potentially allowing target-specific advertisements.

The company faces challenges including doubts about its continued growth and the recent subpar showings of other dotcoms on Wall Street.

The lead underwriters for the deal are Morgan Stanley, who also helped internet companies LinkedIn and Zynga go public last year.