Facebook CEO says no date in mind for IPO

Friday June 4, 2010





PALOS VERDES: Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg says he has no date in mind to take the Internet social networking company public, and defends changes to the service that have provoked privacy concerns.



The world’s largest social network last week unveiled a set of features to give its nearly half-billion users better control over what data they share with the public.



But Zuckerberg said pushing the boundaries on other aspects of Facebook, such as a new “instant personalisation” feature that automatically shared users’ personal data with websites like Pandora and Yelp, was part of what made Facebook such an innovative company.



“Certainly on a day-to-day basis if we didn’t disrupt things that would be the easiest way to proceed,” Zuckerberg told the All Things Digital conference on Wednesday.



“But we don’t believe that if we did that we’d be doing the best thing for us long term or for the industry,” he continued.



Facebook would continue to make what it believed were the right changes, even if some of them were controversial, he said.



Facebook has grown into one of the world’s largest Internet services and is closely-watched by investors hoping to one day buy public shares in the fast-growing company.



The Palo Alto, California-based company is increasingly challenging more established Internet players like Yahoo Inc and Google Inc for consumers’ online time and for ad dollars.



The 26-year-old Zuckerberg, who co-founded Facebook in a Harvard dorm room in 2004, was asked if he expected to remain CEO if the company went public. Zuckerberg said he did, adding that he didn’t “think about going public ... much.”



He said he did not have a date in mind for a potential IPO.



Facebook’s backers include Digital Sky Technologies, Microsoft Corp, Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka Shing and venture capital firms Accel Partners, Greylock Partners and Meritech Capital Partners.



The company does not disclose financial data, though analyst estimates for its 2009 revenue range from US$500mill to US$650mil. — Reuters

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/6/4/business/6399603&sec=business