Budgeting, Planning & Forecasting

Budgeting, Planning & Forecasting

Share
January 28, 2011

Linkedin Moves Ahead in Plans for IPO



LinkedIn (News - Alert) Corporation has filed the paperwork to pave the way for an initial public offering, the company has announced.

The company said in a press release that the documents it submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission do not specify the number of shares it will offer for sale in the IPO, nor has the price range for shares been calculated.

The company is expected to raise at least $175 million from the IPO, according to media reports.

Some of the shares will be sold by LinkedIn, and some will be sold by select stockholders of LinkedIn.

With more than 90 million members, LinkedIn is a networking and job search tool – with many job seekers using it to network.

LinkedIn is valued between $2.5 billion and $3 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Something that differentiates LinkedIn is that most Web businesses generate revenue only from online advertising, the Journal said. LinkedIn has three revenue sources: advertising, premium subscriptions and “hiring solutions for human resources managers who tap its database.”

The news signals that social media companies are maturing from having a limited number of investors. Other social media companies may follow with their own IPOs this year or next.

Facebook (News - Alert) may offer an IPO in a year or two. It has been valued at $50 billion. Another anticipated IPO is at Groupon.

The LinkedIn IPO may be the “most highly anticipated” initial public offering in the technology sector since VMware, Inc., in 2007, Scott Sweet, senior managing partner of IPOBoutique, told the Associated Press (News - Alert) in a story that was carried by TMCnet.

VMware raised about $900 million in its IPO, TMCnet adds.

In other company news, TMCnet said that LinkedIn has acquired CardMunch, a Silicon Valley-based startup. CardMunch offers a business card reading application for the iPhone (News - Alert), TMCnet reports. The service is free.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications & technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO East 2011, taking place Feb 2-4, 2011, in Miami. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.


Ed Silverstein is a TMCnet contributor. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Tammy Wolf
Share



blog comments powered by Disqus

FREE eNewsletter

Financial Technology Industry News