Facebook IPO: $100bn self worth, and other interesting tidbits

By Robert Purchese Published 2 February, 2012

FarmVille maker Zynga contributed $444 million last year.

Facebook's going public, and the $5 billion (£3.16 billion) IPO filing has revealed all sorts of juicy tid-bits about the colossal online social network.

For starters, the share prices Facebook is asking for (roughly $30/£19) would apparently make the company worth a piddly $100 billion (£63.22 billion) - which is even more than Eurogamer's worth!

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's stake in that would be $28 billion (£17.7 billion). He's 27. It's not fair.

Facebook is so pricey because, according to the filing, 845 million people use the site - 483 million of them every day.

'Facebook IPO: $100bn self worth, and other interesting tidbits' Screenshot zuckerberg

"AND I sing. Laaaaaa."

That's how Facebook made $3.7 billion (2.34 billion) predominantly from (85 per cent) advertising last year. And $1 billion of that was profit.

Mind you, a massive $444 million (12 per cent) came courtesy of Zynga - the social gaming giant that exploded on Facebook through FarmVille, Mafia Wars and beyond.

When a player splashes out on Zynga game content, Facebook takes 30 per cent. What happens if Zynga goes it alone?

Some observers worry that Facebook will be pressured to pry deeper into users' private lives, so as to create better targeted ads.

"Facebook was not originally created to be a company. It was built to accomplish a social mission - to make the world more open and connected."

Mark Zuckerberg, founder, Facebook

Facebook's arrival on the public stock market won't necessarily be a rip-roaring success. Because shares have been offered behind closed doors relatively freely, and because Facebook is eight years old, there's a feeling that what money company's stock offered has already been made. The same thing apparently happened with Zynga and Groupon, which didn't get the share price they predicted. And Wall Street looked down its nose at them as a result, it's said.

In a rousing IPO statement, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wrote: "Facebook was not originally created to be a company. It was built to accomplish a social mission - to make the world more open and connected."

He banged on about Facebook creating "a more open culture" that "leads to a better understanding of the lives and perspectives of others". He talked about upending the traditional spread of information from top-down to peer-to-peer.

Zuckerberg said Facebook could help establish more "authentic" businesses because of open communication with lots of potential customers. He also mentioned how Facebook can be a strong political tool where voices can be heard in such volume "they cannot be ignored".

Information sourced from Wired, The Guardian, BBC News.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (25) Latest comment 3 weeks ago

  • HMAN #1 3 weeks ago

    "For starters, the share prices Facebook is asking for (roughly $30/£19) would apparently make the company worth a piddly $100 billion (£63.22 billion) - which is even more than Eurogamer's worth!"

    Underwriters always massively under price IPOs. Expect returns on the first day of trading to be mahooosive. You'd think Zuckerberg would care about so much money being left on the table but I guess if its going to make him a multi billionaire what is a few billion more?

  • CaptainQuint #2 3 weeks ago

    I deleted my FB account about four months ago and I haven't missed it. Seemed a bit weird at first, but you soon remember how nice it was to not give two fucks about what some cunt you knew twenty years ago is doing now.

    It's a liberating experience, which in itself is rather pathetic.

  • Golgo #3 3 weeks ago

    This phoney hands-around-the-world rhetoric makes me want to effing puke.

    "I be-lieve the children are our future, look at all the love they hold in-SIIIDE!"

  • MadDog18 #4 3 weeks ago

    "He banged on about" Love it, obviously big facebook/Zuckerberg fans on EG!

  • ZizouFC #5 3 weeks ago

    But in the morning, he will still be ugly.

  • ring_piece #6 3 weeks ago

    ONE.. HUNDRED... BILLION DOLLARS!!!

    Edited by 1 at 02/02/12 @ 12:55

  • paulf #7 3 weeks ago

    I'm curious how zynga would go it alone, sure they may not like paying the 30% but what other way would they get access to such a large number of interconnected users? (apart from google+ maybe)

  • Eldritch #8 3 weeks ago

    and other interesting tidbits
    Where are those then?

  • CaptainQuint #9 3 weeks ago

    @gotyourmoney

    I tried that. I had a massive cull in which I committed "friend" genocide. I exterminated about eighty percent of my friends list, it was brutal. I was left with about forty-odd people on my list - friends and family etc.

    But a few weeks later I realised I couldn't give a shit about most of them, either.

    Nah, I just opted to go all the way and nuke the place from orbit. It was the only way to be sure.

  • Architect_z #10 3 weeks ago

    Can I have like 1% of that? I'd be sorted for life, and what 1% to your corporation?

  • shadow651 #11 3 weeks ago

    I question the worth of the shares considerably. It was easy for those on the outside to constantly speculate that share worth was going up since it they never had to take in to account the implications of various legal and PR tumbles involving privacy.

    Now that the shares will float, shareholders will be far more cautious over how the company handles privacy and if they continue on the path they have then the worth of the company will go down.
    Simples
    Edited by 3 at 02/02/12 @ 13:37

  • mastablasta #12 3 weeks ago

    Waaay overvalued. Only an idiot or someone shorting it would touch it.

  • BigDannyH #13 3 weeks ago

    So that £444m from Zynga was just 30% of in game purchases?

    Surely it must include ad revenue or something? Please tell me society has not spent well over £1bn on FarmVille microtransactions? Please, say it ain't so!

  • dagas #14 3 weeks ago

    @ZizouFC With that kind of money I doubt he needs to care what he looks like. He could bathe in dog poo and girls would still want him.

  • Inmediasress #15 3 weeks ago

    Post deleted at 15:30:01 02-02-2012

  • PixelPirate #16 3 weeks ago

    Not had a facebook account for a few years now.

    Not missed it for a second.

  • Triggerhappytel #17 3 weeks ago

    If I was Zuckerberg I would cash in my shares and run. The business is doing incredibly well at the moment, but a time will come when its value and dominance declines (perhaps in light of a competitor, like with MySpace). Nothing remains at the top forever.

  • alcides #18 3 weeks ago

    You need to make EG plushies so I can hug you.

  • cyber_nicco #19 3 weeks ago

    Facebook is lame. I'd explain why, but I can't be bothered...

  • killuminati2911 #20 3 weeks ago

    I so much hate FB I don't even own an account. But I'd definitely buy some shares if I only have the money.. :)

  • customfirmware #21 3 weeks ago

    if i was him i would cash in on Facebook while i can.remember sites like hi5,MySpace etc had everyone talking about them at one point and look what happened to them after a few years. eventually people will move on to the next social site.
    just realised triggerhappy said the samething, but at least i'm not the only one that realise this.
    Edited by 1 at 02/02/12 @ 16:02

  • schnide #22 3 weeks ago

    Deactivated my Facebook account last summer. Felt instantly more human. Liked being more human ever since.

  • FogHeart #23 3 weeks ago

    Soon Zuckerberg will be shopping for an island. Then a giant laser. Then a white cat.

  • superdelphinus #24 3 weeks ago

    Seems incredibly dangerous valuing relatively newborn companies at these sorts of levels. Surely noone has no idea of how transient its success is, in this most transient of mediums?

  • gjgjg #25 3 weeks ago

    between apple and facebook hogging all the money, its no wonder the world is penniless