NEWS ALERT: Facebook changes status to public, as they file for a $5 billion IPO

BY: Christina Warren and Todd Wasserman

Facebook just filed the preliminary prospectus for its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO). As rumored, the company is seeking to raise $5 billion. If Facebook manages to raise this capital, it will be on a shortlist of biggest tech IPOs of all time.

Investment bank Morgan Stanley will act as lead underwriter, with Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan and others to take secondary positions. Shares are expected to hit the market in May.

For longtime followers of the social network, this is an exciting time and a culmination of the site’s eight-year rise from Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard dorm room to world domination.

The full S-1 filing is available at:- http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1326801/000119312512034517/d287954ds1.htm

How does Facebook compare to the world’s biggest IPOs?

Note: The proceeds are recorded in actual dollars at the time of public offering, and are not adjusted for inflation.

1. General Motors
Headquartered in Detroit, MI, GM owns Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC.
Proceeds: $23.1 billion
Year: 2010

2. Agricultural Bank of China
This commercial bank of China provides corporate and retail banking products and services, and ranked 141st in global Fortune 500 companies in 2010.
Proceeds: $22.1 billion
Year: 2010

3. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
Based in China, the ICBC provides financial services to 4.12 million corporate clients and 259 million individual customers.
Proceeds: $21 billion
Year: 2006

4. American International Assurance
AIA is a major insurance company based in Hong Kong.
Proceeds: $20.5 billion
Year: 2010

5. Visa
Visa is a global payments technology company that specializes in digital currency replacements.
Proceeds: $19.7 billion
Year: 2008

6. NTT Mobile
NTT Mobile is one of Japan’s leading providers of mobile, data and multimedia services.
Proceeds: $18.1 billion
Year: 1998

7. Enel
Enel Green Power is an international corporation focused on renewable energy.
Proceeds: $16.6 billion
Year: 1999

8. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone
With total assets valued at $7.57 trillion, NTT is a Japanese telecommunications company.
Proceeds: $13.7 billion
Year: 1987

9. Deutsche Telekom
German Deutsche Telekom is the leading telecommunications company in Europe and also owns T-Mobile.
Proceeds: $12.5 billion
Year: 1996

10. Bank of China
Based in China, the bank offers financial services in 31 different countries.
Proceeds: $11.2 billion
Year: 2006

11. Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance
Dai-ichi is one of the largest life insurance companies in Japan.
Proceeds: $11.2 billion
Year: 2010

12. Rosneft
Russian-based Rosneft is a hydrocarbon, petroleum and petrochemical discovery and production company.
Proceeds: $10.65 billion
Year: 2006

13. AT&T Wireless
AT&T is the second largest wireless communications company in the U.S.
Proceeds: $10.6 billion
Year: 2000

14. Telstra
Based in Australia, Telstra is one of the country’s most widely used telecommunications companies.
Proceeds: $10.2 billion
Year: 1997

15. Facebook
Based in Palo Alto, CA, Facebook is social networking service made up of over 800 million users.
Proceeds: Estimated $10 billion
Year: projected April 2012

16. East Japan Railway Co.
Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, East Japan Railway Co. is the largest passenger railway company in the world.
Proceeds: estimated $9.9 billion
Year: 1993