Facebook priced its shares at $38 each in an initial public offering raising $16bn that values the world’s largest social networking group at $104bn, vaulting the eight-year-old company into the ranks of top 25 public companies in the US.
The company’s 28-year-old founder, Mark Zuckerberg, has personally raised $1.1bn in the offering; his remaining stake is now worth $19.1bn, establishing him as one of the richest men in the world.
Mr Zuckerberg, who is also chief executive, will still have control of the company, with 57.5 per cent of the voting power, due to Facebook’s dual class share structure and agreements he has struck with early investors.