In case you hadn’t noticed, Facebook really doesn’t want to go public. At least, not yet. The seven-year-old company is now valued at $50 billion, significantly more than one-time Internet behemoths Yahoo! or eBay. (It’s also been said that the company’s value tops media giant Time Warner’s, but that’s only if you ignore the value of Time Warner’s long-term debt; throw that in and the companies’ enterprise values seem to be pretty much equivalent — which is still pretty amazing.) And this week the big news (and the source of that $50 billion valuation) was that Goldman Sachs had handed over $450 million and committed to invest as much as $1 billion more in the company — money that it plans to raise from wealthy investors.
Why Facebook (and Others) Don’t Want to Go Public
In case you hadn’t noticed, Facebook really doesn’t want to go public. At least, not yet. The seven-year-old company is now valued at $50 billion, significantly more than one-time Internet behemoths Yahoo! or eBay. (It’s also been said that the company’s value tops media giant Time Warner’s, but that’s only if you ignore the value […]
January 06, 2011
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HBR Learning
Finance Essentials Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Finance Essentials. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Strengthen your fluency in financial statements.