timrohamro.com

News Desk: Popular social networking site Facebook, whose launch had posed a threat to the printing press and traditional media, has filed a $5bn (£3.2bn) initial public offering (IPO) marking as the biggest ever IPO in Silicon Valley.

Analysts expected that Facebook founded by Mark Zuckerberg will make its market debut in the middle of this year. The company has lodged its IPO with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday evening that showed that it has made $1bn (£631m) profit on $3.71bn revenue last year.

Facebook earned $1 billion on sales of $3.7 billion in 2011 with 845 million daily active users as of December 31. It crossed the profits reported in past five years. Its revenues soared from $777m in 2009 to $3.7bn last year, while profits were from $229m in 2009 to $1bn.

However, the company did not give details of its target price for the IPO. It is expected that the IPO will be $100bn in the coming days.

The IPO filed on Wednesday evening revealed that Zuckerberg owns a 28.4pc stake. He will retain almost complete control of Facebook with 56.9pc of the voting shares, which suggests that Facebook will not appoint a majority of independent directors or set up board committees to oversee compensation and other matters in the company.

The filing revealed that the 27-year old Zuckerberg, who was the student at Harvard University, was paid a base salary of $500,000 in 2011. His total compensation will be $1.48m, but he will take home only $1 a year from 2013 following the example of Apple founder Steve Jobs.

Zuckerberg also claimed that Facebook like the printing press or the TV has the power to transform any important parts of society. As the networking site has been providing the best platform for people, it has the potentiality to change the society.

Facebook has brought people together and closer and the society has reached another tipping point, he said in a letter accompanying the documents. He stressed that Facebook's mission is social than making money.

Breaking News Online!