Facebook is now a $33 billion entity

LONDON - Facebook is now worth a whopping 33.7 billion dollars, after investors paid up to 76 dollars for a share in the company ahead of its much-hyped flotation on the stock market, according to a report.

The Financial Times has said that the implied valuation means that Facebook is now has a higher valuation than technology giants such as eBay and Yahoo!, which have capped market values of 30.1 billion dollars and 18.3 billion dollars respectively.

“Common stock in Facebook is trading as high as $76 a share as investors scramble to get a piece of the company before it files for an initial public offering, which analysts say could be the biggest technology IPO since Google’s $1.67bn flotation in 2004,” the Telegraph quoted David Gelles, a reporter for The Financial Times as saying.

“While Facebook and other successful Silicon Valley companies, such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Zynga, are delaying their IPOs because of perceived weak appetite on the public markets, some investors are not content to wait. They are acquiring stakes in technology companies while they are still private, hoping that their eventual IPOs will send share prices even higher,” he wrote.

Facebook, which registered its 500 millionth member last month, is currently financed through a mixture of investment firms and venture capital companies.

It is not yet know when the company will float, although there have been hints it will not be until 2011. (ANI)