Facebook Value Hits $9.5B; IPO Coming?

Based on Facebook’s share price of $21 apiece on SecondMarket, an independent marketplace and auction platform for illiquid assets, the social-networking site is valued at about $9.5 billion, SecondMarket managing director Adam Oliveri told Bloomberg.

Renaissance Capital analyst Paul Bard expects an initial public offering in the next 12-18 months, telling Bloomberg, “The fact that the stock on these private exchanges moved—I’m sure that has to do with the fact that people think a deal is coming sooner rather than later.”

On the subject of a potential IPO, Oliveri added:

The perception is that that the company is going to IPO, and it’s going to be the next kind of Google IPO situation where you’re going to have massive interest. Investors are coming out of the woodwork, trying to figure out a way to get exposure.

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