May 3, 2012 3:50pm EST – Privately-held Facebook, Inc. just amended its S-1 this afternoon including initial price range of $28-$35/share, which is legally required in order form Facebook to begin marketing the offering to investors in person. The move indicates the final step before Facebook's IPO roadshow which PrivCo sources confirm is expected to begin on Monday morning May 7, 2012.

In additional breaking news:

  • PrivCo sources close to the deal confirm that Mark Zuckerberg WILL be showing up for the IPO Road Show.
  • PrivCo sources close to the deal confirm that Mark Zuckerberg will be ringing the opening bell at the NASDAQ MarketSite in New York’s Times Square on Friday, May 18th.
  • The initial price range gives Facebook a final valuation between $70.4B to $88B.
  • PrivCo projects that the final share valuation could be adjusted by as much as $5 above the high-end range in a final S-1 amendment in the days before trade begins, with an ultimate target valuation of $95.5-100.5 billion based on PrivCo’s calculation (detailed below) 2.513 billion fully-diluted shares outstanding.
  • At the expected final pricing of up to $40/share, the IPO would be $13.48B ($7.2B going to Facebook; the rest to selling stockholders), the largest ever tech IPO. With the underwriters' green shoe, the total offering size would exceed $15B.

A final pricing above range will give the offering positive momentum leading into the IPO.

Facebook’s final private market trades went for $44.10, giving a valuation of $104B.

"PrivCo believes the low range announced today is due to a weak Q1, to facilitate a re-price above range prior to the IPO, and to guarantee a price pop on the first day of trading," said PrivCo Founder & CEO Sam Hamadeh in a statement.

By filing the amendment and beginning its roadshow on May 7th, Facebook remains on its targeted “Plan A” track to price its shares by Friday May 18th and begin trading on May 21st.

PrivCo Share Count Calculations as of March 31, 2012:

   Class A Common Stock*:                     117,549,393

   Class B Common Stock*:                     1,780,535,644

   Zuckerberg Stock Options:                  120,000,000

   Class B  Stock Options:                       116,756,442

   Class B Restricted Stock Unit (RSUs)  378,429,048

+ Class A Issues in April 2012*:               40,000

   Fully Diluted Shares Outstanding*     2,513,310,527

 *Includes automatic conversion of Facebook preferred stock( primarily held by VC investors) upon IPO.

See the PrivCo Private Company Report on Facebook