Facebook ups IPO again -- this time with more shares
It will now offer as many as 484.4 million shares of common stock. More shares means the possibility of raising even more cash in this week's IPO -- potentially now up to $18.4 billion.
Facebook today revealed that it will be offering more Class A common stock than initially anticipated, in a move that bulks up its breathlessly awaited IPO by almost 25 percent.
In a revised S-1 Registration Statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission this morning, Facebook said that it will now offer 421.2 million shares of class A stock when it goes public on Friday. The company has also upped the amount of shares it will allow for overallotment from 50.6 million to 63.2 million. All told, the company could offer 484.4 million shares when it goes public.
More shares means the possibility of Facebook shareholders raising even more cash in the IPO. According to Facebook's filing today, if all 484.4 million shares are sold, that would generate a maximum of $18.4 billion. Yesterday, with its 388 million maximum shares, it was ready to generate $14.7 billion.
CNBC reported last night that Facebook was considering increasing its IPO size by more than 25 percent and adding 85 million shares to its offering. With the overallotment included, the company upped its offering by 96.3 million.
Still, it's worth noting that the increase in shares doesn't necessarily boost Facebook directly. As the company itself points out, it is offering 180 million shares of common stock in the IPO. The remaining 241 million will be offered by selling stockholders. The proceeds from the sale of shares by stockholders will be retained by them, and not Facebook. Today's increase comes from more shares offered by selling stockholders, and not Facebook.
Facebook's change is the second in two days. The company yesterday announced that it had upped its IPO price range to between $34 and $38. Facebook had initially anticipated offering its shares for anywhere between $28 and $35. The company is expected to officially price its shares tomorrow ahead of Friday's stock market debut.
When Facebook finally goes public, the company's shares will be traded under the symbol "FB" on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.
Update 4:31 a.m. PT with more details.