Facebook unveils plans to launch $5bn IPO

Facebook’s long-anticipated initial public offering will see it look to raise $5bn in a listing expected to value the company at up to $100bn.

Though no target price has yet been announced for the IPO, documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission overnight revealed founder Mark Zuckerberg owns a 28.4% stake in Facebook, with a dual share class structure meaning he will retain 56.9% of voting rights once the company goes public.

Morgan Stanley will be the lead underwriter on the IPO, expected to take place in May. Reuters has suggested investor demand could push the $5bn target figure up towards $10bn by that date.

The filing revealed Facebook made a $1bn profit from $3.7bn in revenue in the year to 31 December.

Net income rose from $229m in 2009 to $606m in 2010 before breaching the $1bn barrier last year, a figure which was nonetheless lower than analysts estimated.

The company said it had 845 million monthly active users as of the end of December, up 39% year-on-year, with daily active users up 48% at 483 million.

Zuckerberg's salary will be cut from a base of $500,000 to $1 as of 1 January 2013, a move which follows the example set by Apple founder Steve Jobs.

Some fund managers had previously expressed reservations about participating in the IPO, arguing Facebook has been overvalued.

"The key is not overpaying for growth in the investments you make, and that is the danger of paying the multiples being touted around for Facebook," Polar Capital Global Technology fund manager Nick Evans said early last year.

US investor Jim Rogers echoed that sentiment earlier this week, telling CNBC Facebook was the kind of "very, very expensive" stock that he typically shied away from.