It feels like it’s happening overnight, but Facebook has been marching toward an initial public offering (IPO) for almost eight years. Mark Zuckerberg created “TheFacebook” way back in 2004, nurturing it from dorm-room dream to Silicon Valley megasuccess during that time, and along the way he repeatedly dodged questions of when the company would offer stock.  Actually, some very lucky people have been able to own a chunk of Facebook for a while now. Apart from major investors like Microsoft and Russia’s Digital Sky — both of which invested substantially in the company over the years — Facebook employees have been able to buy and sell their stake in Facebook on secondary markets since 2009.  If buzz is any indication, that stake will soon be worth a lot. Facebook is said to be filing for its much-anticipated public offering on Wednesday this week, and estimates for how much the company will be worth once it’s done are in the $100 billion range. That would make the social network about four times the value of Google at the time it went public in 2004 with a valuation at $23 billion the day after.  Although Facebook has been the target of acquisition interest since its beginnings (Friendster was reported to have been interested as early as 2004), Zuckerberg had faith that he and his team could be more successful on their own, rejecting any and all offers. While talks between Facebook and Yahoo progressed far in 2008, the $1.6 billion reportedly being offered wasn’t enough for Zuckerberg.  Zuckerberg never had much to say when asked about an IPO, preferring to keep the focus on the products Facebook was putting out and the network it was building. But the company began to take its first serious steps toward an offering in early 2011, reaching out to investment banks to help the company navigate the complicated financial waters.  And now the IPO filing appears imminent. Besides the reports from various financial publications, Facebook recently pushed out its new Timeline feature to all users and stopped its share trading on secondary markets, both without explanation. We should know the answer very soon.  To experience Facebook’s road to IPO in more detail, browse the gallery. And let us know if you intend to buy stock — and why — in the comments.
The seeds for the Facebook IPO were sown long ago, but a lot had to happen to bring Mark Zuckerberg's "TheFacebook" to where it is today.