Facebook files $5 billion IPO, values the company at nearly $100 billion

The rumor, speculation and awkward Winklevii jokes can end (at least for now) as Facebook has officially filed for its public offering. Underwritten by Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs amongst others, the internet's most popular site seeks to trade under the stock symbol "FB" when it goes public later this year. The company is seeking to raise $5 billion, according to this early filing, amounting to a lofty (and still tentative) valuation of almost $100 billion. Going public also provides a rare glimpse into internal stats previously kept private, revealing the service has 845 million active users each month, nearly half of which log in and actuate 2.7 billion likes and comments each day. It also shed light on the company's balance sheet, with revenues of $777 million, $1.97 billion and $3.71 billion in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively. All told, it logged profits of $229 million and $606 million those years -- earnings that were bested by the $1 billion it netted in 2011. As for Zuck, his 2011 salary of $500,000 will be cut to $1 as of January 2013, but he'll be more than comfortable, thanks to a 28.4 percent stake in the company.

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