Facebook files for 'biggest' initial public offering of $5bn

Washington, Feb 2(ANI): Facebook has filed for an initial public offering of five billion dollars, which is expected to be the biggest technology flotation, with its founder Mark Zuckerberg comparing the launch of the company to the invention of the printing press.

"They gave more people a voice. They encouraged progress. They changed the way society was organized. They brought us closer together. Today, our society has reached another tipping point," The Telegraph quoted Zuckerberg, as saying after the filing of IPO.

Facebook lodged its initial public offering documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and revealed that it made one billion dollar profit in 2011.

Its revenues soared from 777 million dollars to 3.7 billion dollars, while its profits nearly quadrupled from 229 million dollars to one billion dollars between 2009 and 2011.

The company did not give details of its target price for the initial public offering but it is expected to value the company at up to 100 billion dollars.

The filing revealed that Zuckerberg, who owns a 28.4 percent stake, would retain effective control due to a dual class voting structure.

Zuckerberg's Class B shares will each carry ten votes, whereas the Class A shares being offered at IPO will have just one vote a piece.

"[The structure] provides Mr Zuckerberg with the ability to control the outcome of matters requiring stockholder approval, even if he owns significantly less than a majority of the shares," the filing said.

The documents also revealed that Facebook is facing an Security Exchange Commission probe for its transactions on the secondary market.

The float will likely turn Zuckerberg into one of the world's richest men, and its 3,200 employees into millionaires. (ANI)