The value of Facebook soars

Social networking giants Facebook are now reported to be worth a cool $33.7 billion, following investment by organisations purchasing shares in the company. According to a new report, people have purchased shares for up to $76 each prior to the site’s stock market flotation.

The news comes amid ongoing reports that Facebook is growing in strength and popularity, eclipsing its rival sites MySpace and Bebo. According to the Financial Times, this new figure demonstrates that Facebook is now enjoying an even higher value than anticipated by industry experts. The price associated with site now puts it ahead of other internet powerhouses such as eBay and Yahoo, which are worth $30.1 billion and $18.3 billion each.

A reporter from the Financial Times has commented: “Common stock in Facebook is trading as high as $76 a share as investors scramble to get a piece of the company before it files for an initial public offering, which analysts say could be the biggest technology IPO since Google’s $1.67bn flotation in 2004.”

“While Facebook and other successful Silicon Valley companies, such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Zynga, are delaying their IPOs because of perceived weak appetite on the public markets, some investors are not content to wait. They are acquiring stakes in technology companies while they are still private, hoping that their eventual IPOs will send share prices even higher.”

Facebook has a membership of approximately 500 million, and at the moment is funded through a combination of venture capital and investment corporations. Although there is no firm date for the company to float on the market, reports suggest it will take place at some point next year. The company has gone from strength to strength since it was founded in 2004 by internet pioneer Mark Zuckerberg, a graduate from Harvard University.

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