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Facebook IPO Could Raise $10 Billion

(Photo dated September 22, 2011 shows Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivering a keynote during the Facebook f8 Developer Conference at the San Francisco Design Center.)

Photo by KIMIHIRO HOSHINO/AFP/Getty Images

Will investors “Like” Facebook a billion times or more? The social media giant is expected to file for a public stock offering this week, and speculation is that the company is looking to raise at least $5 billion.

Of course, that’s just being conservative—Mark Zuckerberg’s baby could draw as much as $10 billion, but, like Zynga and other Internet companies that went public recently, Facebook’s expectations will start on the low end and potentially move higher as companies like Morgan Stanley broker sales of the stock. If the offering happens this week, shares might be available for purchase by April.

The largest tech IPO so far was that of Google, which drew $1.9 billion in 2004. But many hope that Facebook’s offering will not only prove that there isn’t a tech bubble but will also drive up the larger economy. Ultimately the company could be valued at $100 billion, mostly due to the cache of user data that Facebook intends to leverage with advertising.

Facebook, just remember the last big tech company’s mantra when you rake in the billions. At least try not to be evil.