tech:

taffy

Facebook’s IPO Late Next Year?

According to media reports, Facebook is expecting to set its IPO wheels in motion in the later half of next year,  and not April 2012 as was widely believed.

Here are some key points of the whole business:

a] Valuation – Facebook’s valuation has been growing in leaps and bounds. The company was pegged at $50B in the beginning of this year; but that was a long time ago. Facebook’s current valuation is expected to hover around the $66.5B range.

b] Facebook has more cash than it can burn through at the moment – The $50B valuation you just read about? Part of it was the $1.5B Facebook raised in overseas offerings in January 2011, courtesy Digital Sky Technologies and Goldman Sachs. Here is the press release from the company, in case you want to take a look.

c] The IPO can be a moving goal  – According to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, companies  have to  file financial statements with the SEC if its number of shareholders exceed 499. Facebook has to start filing public financial reports no later than April 30, 2012; which explains the magic date everybody had assumed for its IPO as well.

However, as per the same ACT, any such company, or Facebook, in this case, can continue to be a private entity even afterwards, so Zuckerberg is really in  no rush to move heaven, earth, and Wall Street; especially when he has enough cash in hand, and no particularly adult supervision breathing down his neck, crying out for short term performance, or else.

 

Just in

Apple sued in a landmark iPhone monopoly lawsuit — CNN

The US Justice Department and more than a dozen states filed a blockbuster antitrust lawsuit against Apple on Thursday, accusing the giant company of illegally monopolizing the smartphone market, writes Brian Fung, Hannah Rabinowitz and Evan Perez.

Google is bringing satellite messaging to Android 15 — The Verge

Google’s second developer preview for Android 15 has arrived, bringing long-awaited support for satellite connectivity alongside several improvements to contactless payments, multi-language recognition, volume consistency, and interaction with PDFs via apps, writes Jess Weatherbed. 

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman is paid more than the heads of Meta, Pinterest, and Snap — combined — QZ

Reddit co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman has been blasted by Redditors and in media reports over his recently-revealed, super-sized pay package of $193 million in 2023, writes Laura Bratton. 

British AI pioneer Mustafa Suleyman joins Microsoft — BBC

Microsoft has announced British Artificial Intelligence pioneer Mustafa Suleyman will lead its newly-formed division, Microsoft AI, according to the BBC report. 

UnitedHealth Group has paid more than $2 billion to providers following cyberattack — CNBC

UnitedHealth Group said Monday that it’s paid out more than $2 billion to help health-care providers who have been affected by the cyberattack on subsidiary Change Healthcare, writes Ashley Capoot.