ROBERT GALBRAITH/Reuters
Facebook's mega-deal with Goldman Sachs is putting pressure on social media firms to go public. Will these four players become blue chips, or presage another apocalyptic tech bubble? (all currency in U.S. dollars)
Facebook Estimated valuation $50 billion Possible IPO date April, 2012 The scuttlebutt After a round of funding in January raised $450 million from Russian firm Digital Sky and Goldman Sachs (the latter of whom offered stakes to its partners and private wealth clients), the whispers pushed the putative IPO date to mid-2012-unless SEC rules limiting investor numbers force it to do it sooner.
GroupOn Estimated valuation $6.4 to $7.8 billion Possible IPO date End of 2011 The scuttlebutt Pundits are still reeling after Groupon turned down Google's alleged $6-billion offer. Now, with Fidelity, Morgan Stanley and others sniffing around, the firm could be in for an IPO worth even more.
LinkedIn Estimated valuation $2.2 billion Possible IPO date Soon The scuttlebutt The question isn't if LinkedIn will go public, but when. Sources say it has already selected underwriters, and is just waiting for the ink on the paperwork to dry.
Twitter Estimated valuation $3.7 billion Possible IPO date Fall, 2011 The scuttlebutt Some say Twitter hopes to push up its valuation by riding the momentum of the other tech stocks, while it concentrates on building revenue. But could the microblogging juggernaut have missed its window?