Facebook has bumped up the price it planned to charge for shares at is stock market debut, giving the leading social network a value that could top US$100 billion, according to reports on Monday.
Facebook will price its initial public offering (IPO) from US$34 to US$38 per share instead of the US$28 to US$35 range indicated in paperwork filed earlier this month with US regulators, according to CNBC and the Wall Street Journal.
The raised IPO share price reflected confidence in demand for Facebook stock and gave the Menlo Park, California-based company a value between US$93 and US$104 billion.
At the higher end of the price range, Facebook would raise nearly US$15 billion through the stock sale, with a large chunk of the cash going to its early backers and employees compensated with stock.
Facebook was already assured of becoming the most valuable US Web company at the time of an IPO, topping Google’s US$23 billion valuation in 2004.
Facebook will trade under the symbol “FB” on the technology-heavy NASDAQ. Trading was expected to be launched on Friday, according to news reports.
Meanwhile, half of Americans think Facebook is a passing fad, according to the results of a new Associated Press-CNBC poll. And, in the run-up to the social network’s IPO, half of Americans also say the social network’s expected asking price is too high.
Just a third of those surveyed think the company’s expected value is appropriate, while 50 percent say it is too high. Those who invest in the stock market are more likely to see Facebook as overvalued, 58 percent said. About three in 10 investors say the expected value of shares is fair.
However, price worries would not necessarily stop would-be investors. Half the people surveyed say they think Facebook is a good bet, while 31 percent do not. The rest are not sure. Americans who invest in stocks roughly agree, although investors who are more “active” — those who have changed their holdings in the past month — are more negative. Nearly 40 percent say Facebook would not be a good investment.
The public overall is similarly divided on the company’s future. Just under half of adults (46 percent) predict a short timeline for Facebook, while 43 percent say it has staying power.
The Associated Press-CNBC Poll was conducted from May 3 to Monday last week by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and mobile telephone interviews with 1,004 adults across the US and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
Taichung reported the steepest fall in completed home prices among the six special municipalities in the first quarter of this year, data compiled by Taiwan Realty Co (台灣房屋) showed yesterday. From January through last month, the average transaction price for completed homes in Taichung fell 8 percent from a year earlier to NT$299,000 (US$9,483) per ping (3.3m²), said Taiwan Realty, which compiled the data based on the government’s price registration platform. The decline could be attributed to many home buyers choosing relatively affordable used homes to live in themselves, instead of newly built homes in the city’s prime property market, Taiwan Realty
The government yesterday approved applications by Alphabet Inc’s Google to invest NT$27.08 billion (US$859.98 million) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. The Department of Investment Review approved two investments proposed by Google, with much of the funds to be used for data processing and electronic information supply services, as well as inventory procurement businesses in the semiconductor field, the ministry said. It marks the second consecutive year that Google has applied to increase its investment in Taiwan. Google plans to infuse NT$25.34 billion into Charter Investments Ltd (特許投資顧問) through its Singapore-based subsidiary Fructan Holdings Singapore Pte Ltd, and
Micron Technology Inc is a driving force pushing the US Congress to pass legislation that would put new export restrictions on equipment its Chinese competitors use to make their chips, according to people familiar with the matter. A US House of Representatives panel yesterday was to vote on the “MATCH Act,” a bill designed to close gaps in restrictions on chipmaking equipment. It would also pressure foreign companies that sell equipment to Chinese chipmaking facilities to align with export curbs on US companies like Lam Research Corp and Applied Materials Inc. The bill targets facilities operated by China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc
Japan’s reliance on the Middle East for aluminum is forcing companies to cut back on production and scramble for alternative supply sources after key shipping routes were severed due to the Iran conflict. Among the most exposed are auto and parts makers such as Toyota Motor Corp and Denso Corp. Domestic automakers get about 70 percent of their aluminum imports from the Middle East, the nation’s top auto lobby said. The price of the lightweight alloy — used in everything from engine parts to wheels — has jumped about 13 percent since hostilities started in late February. “It’s only been a month, but it’s
RSS