Tuesday, January 31, 2012

BB or FB IPO?

More subscribers than China or India?

$5 or 10 B IPO, $50 B or $100 B Company?

Banker Corporate Monopoly Government Intel Largest Tech Initial Public Offering ever?

NYT DealBOOk
JANUARY 31, 2012, 5:25 PM

Facebook Said to Be Planning for I.P.O. Filing on Wednesday

By MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED
6:02 p.m. | Updated Facebook plans to file the prospectus for its initial public offering on Wednesday, according to people briefed on the matter, finally kicking off one of the most anticipated stock sales of the social networking era.
The Internet giant plans to list a preliminary fund-raising goal of about $5 billion, one of these people said. Another cautioned that any such number was largely a placeholder for determining filing fees, and that the final amount could differ significantly. And the company could still decide to delay its filing.
Facebook is also expected to pick Morgan Stanley as the lead bank for the offering, putting it in the coveted “lead-left” position of the underwriters listing, said these people, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Morgan Stanley had dueled with Goldman Sachs for the prestige that comes with leading Facebook’s market debut. The two firms sit atop the league tables for I.P.O.’s held over the past 12 months, according to data from Thomson Reuters. 
Goldman is currently in the lead, having led 52 offerings that raised $11.8 billion. Morgan Stanley led 66 offerings that raised $10.1 billion.
But Facebook’s debut may reap smaller fees than are seen in normal offerings. Analysts at Freeman & Company estimated that the fees for the offering could be as low as 2.5 percent to 2.8 percent, roughly on par with what Google and Visa paid in their I.P.O.’s.
General Motors paid its underwriters even less — a remarkably low 0.75 percent — thanks in part to pressure from the auto maker’s principal shareholder, the Treasury Department.
A number of other banks are expected to round out the list of underwriters in the initial prospectus, with more added over time.
At $5 billion, the size of the offering is remarkably small, given speculation that Facebook could seek as much as $10 billion. But other Internet companies that have gone public in the last year, including Groupon and Zynga, initially sought small fund-raising amounts, only to raise those targets after gauging investor demand.
Should Facebook expand the size of the stock sale to that expected $10 billion, the I.P.O. will be the biggest technology offering in history, according to data from Thomson Reuters. The current record holder is Infineon Technologies’ debut, which raised nearly $5.9 billion in 2000.
News of the filing’s timing and its size was reported earlier by International Financing Review online.

http://nyti.ms/zrdr6I

The Numbers:

Facebook's IPO by the Numbers
ARTICLE DATE : January 31, 2012
By Jill Duffy
Facebook's filing with Securities and Exchange Commission could happen as early as Feb. 1, with the initial public offering of stock thought to take place three to four months after.
Experts have estimated Facebook's valuation at somewhere in the ballpark of $75 billion to $100 billion. The IPO could help Facebook raise as much as $10 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal and other sources.
Those numbers sound astronomical, but in light of other tech companies, are they? Here, we've pulled some statistics to put Facebook into perspective, both among other Internet companies and globally.

 VALUATION

Tech PerspectiveFacebook's estimated valuation is between $75 billion and $100 billion. To put that figure in perspective:
If valued at $100 billion, Facebook's worth would be:
  • comparable to Amazon.com ($87.19 billion)
  • close to half of Google ($187.68 billion)
  • about 40 percent of Microsoft ($246.48 billion)
  • less than a quarter of Apple ($421.15 billion)
Global Perspective
If valued at $100 billion, Facebook's worth would be more than double Kenya's GDP, which is roughly $35.8 billion (current prices, USD, 2011 estimate from the IMF).
It would also be a little less than half of Ireland's GDP, which is roughly $212.8 billion (current prices, USD, 2011 estimate, IMF).
IPO
Facebook's initial public offering would allow the company to try and raise around $10 billion, which would put it behind only three other U.S. companies' IPOs : Visa ($17.9 billion in 2008), General Motors ($15.8 billion in 2010), and AT&T Wireless ($10.62 billion in 2000).
Those figures are all far ahead of what other Internet companies raised in their initial public offerings.
Tech Perspective
Amount Raised In Other Internet Companies' IPOs:
  • Google: $1.67 billion (2004)
  • Zynga: $1 billion (2011)
  • Groupon: $700 million (2011)
  • LinkedIn: $352.8 million (2011)
  • Pandora: $235 million (2011)
  • Yelp: $100 million (expected 2012)
Global Perspective
How much is $10 billion in other global terms?
  • A little less than twice the United Nation's budget (2012-2013) of $5.15 billion.
  • Equal to the total of collecting $1.43 from every person on Earth.
  • Equal to the total of $2,267.24 from each person in the U.S.
  • The same as Halliburton's total contracts ($10 billion) with the U.S. during the Iraq War (2004).
  • More than half NASA's $17.8 billion funding for 2012.
  • A mere 1.43 percent of the 2008 TARP fund, that is, the $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program, also known as the U.S. bailout.
  • More than one-third of the $28 billion that billionaires Bill and Melinda Gates had given to charity as of 2007.
  • The approximate net worth of each the following billionaires: John Mars, Jacqueline Mars, Forrest Mars (all of Mars Inc. candy company), Johanna Quandt (of BMW) (source: Forbes).
REVENUE
Facebook's 2010 revenue was estimated somewhere around $2 billion, and 2011 estimates seem to be in the range of $4.25 billion to $5 billion. Of course, if the company goes public, it will have to start officially reporting financial data such as revenue and other figures. Here's how Facebook's estimated revenue measures up against a few other companies' annual revenue:
Tech Perspective
  • Facebook: $2 billion (2010) estimated $4.25B-$5 billion (2011) estimated
  • Google: $29.32 billion (2010)
  • Amazon.com: $34.204 billion (2010)
  • Foxconn: $59.32 billion
  • Microsoft: $62.48 billion (2010) $69.94 billion (2011)
  • Apple: $65 billion (2010) $108.25 billion (2011)
Global Perspective
  • Mars Inc.: $30 billion (2010)
  • News Corp.: $33.41 billion (2010)
  • General Electric: $150.21 billion (2010)
  • ExxonMobil: $383.22 billion (2010)

For more, see Before Facebook: A Look Back at Major Tech IPOs.
http://bit.ly/wtbzTx
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DU: Depleted Uranium Genocidal War Crimes

http://bit.ly/yF9a43   22:00
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Diebold Leaks Presidential Election Results Early

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AP2BjpIYJLw  2:39


From The Onion, in recognition of Mitt Romney being called the Florida Winner before the polls closed... 
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Q4: Stephen Colbert raises $1 million, RS $9 M, RP $13, MR $24 M, NG $13 M, 0 $68 M

http://bit.ly/xIPH5N
How does that compare? (+video)

OK, other super PACs have a lot more money to spend. But the Stephen Colbert super PAC ranks in the middle class of super-PACdom, and with it the comedian can keep ridiculing the US campaign finance system.

By Peter Grier, Staff writer / January 31, 2012
Actor and television host Stephen Colbert arrives to host a South Carolina primary rally with former Republican Presidential candidate Herman Cain, at the College of Charleston, South Carolina, in this January 20 photo. Stephen Colbert's super PAC disclosed Monday night that it has raised more than $1 million.
Jason Reed/Reuters
Enlarge

Stephen Colbert’s "super PAC" disclosed Monday night that it has raised more than $1 million. A total of $1,023,121.34, to be precise. The vast majority of it came from individual donors, includingJimmy Carter. Of course, this particular Jimmy Carter lives in San Diego and is not an ex-president, but it’s still an exciting name, no?

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A Kennedy – Trevor Kennedy – also sent a few hundred bucks, as did Gavin Newsom, lieutenant governor of California, and a number of people who listed fake names that are unprintable on a family website.
But here’s our question: Is $1,023,121.34 a lot of money in the world of super political action committees? Is the Colbert organization part of the 1 percent, campaign finance-wise, or part of the 99 percent?
RECOMMENDED: Stephen Colbert and laughable politics: Five comedians who ran for office
It’s definitely middle class. One million bucks is nothing to be ashamed of, as PACs go. The conservative Club for Growth super PAC has raised about $1.3 million this election cycle, for instance, according to the watchdog group Center for Responsive Finance.
But scroll down the super PAC listings at the Center for Responsive Finance's Open Secrets website and you see that Colbert’s group can’t measure up its checkbook with the big dogs. Consider American Crossroads, a super PAC linked to GOP guru Karl Rove, a frequent Colbert target. (On "The Colbert Report,” the comedian has depicted Mr. Rove as a canned ham wearing glasses.) American Crossroads has raised almost $7 million this election cycle. Is that a canned ham we hear, laughing while its aspic jiggles?






Then there’s Restore Our Future, a super PAC that supports Mitt Romney. It’s the wealthiest such organization in the current race, having raised more than $12 million this election cycle. That can buy a lot of anti-Gingrich commercials. (We’ve checked – there is no truth to the rumor that Restore Our Future drove to its vacation cottage with its cash strapped to the roof of the car.)
Even Endorse Liberty, the super PAC that endorses Ron Paul, has spent more than $3 million this cycle. That would have bought a lot of zeppelin rides and unicorns.
Zeppelin rides and unicorns are what the Colbert-linked group has pretended to lavish cash on, of course. Colbert has regained control of the organization, by the way, as we predicted he would. He had turned it over to Jon Stewart while he pretended to explore a run for president of South Carolina. When he wanted it back, Stewart held it hostage. Colbert regained his money Monday night after an extended chase scene that traveled through both shows, involved Stewart hiding on the set of “The View” in a wig, and featured ample amounts of great 1970s-era chase-scene music.
On his show, Colbert noted that he had gotten his money back just in time for the Jan. 31 deadline for super PACS to release donor information. Not just his group, but other such independent expenditure groups would now be releasing info, he noted.
“It’s a great day for transparency because tomorrow voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida will finally have the vital information that would have been useful before they voted,” Colbert said.
Yes, you got it – he’s making fun there. That’s why he’s got a super PAC, to comically illuminate the faults and absurdities of the US campaign finance world.
Election 101: Five basics about 'super PACs' and 2012 campaign money 
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http://bit.ly/zVzin8
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8th Largest Global Economy CA Out of Cash after Leap Year Day 29 February 2012

Capitol Alert

The latest on California politics and government

January 31, 2012
Controller: State to run out of cash in March without action
ha_jchiang48630.JPGCalifornia will run out of cash by early March if the state does not take swift action to find $3.3 billion through payment delays and borrowing, according to a letter state Controller John Chiang sent to state lawmakers today.

The announcement is surprising since lawmakers previously believed the state had enough cash to last through the fiscal year that ends in June.

But Chiang said additional cash management solutions are needed because state tax revenues are $2.6 billion less than what Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers assumed in their optimistic budget last year. Meanwhile, Chiang said, the state is spending $2.6 billion more than state leaders planned on.

The Assembly budget committee approved a bill today that would enable $865 million of borrowing from existing state accounts, Senate Bill 95. Chiang, after consultation with the Department of Finance and state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, is also seeking about $2.4 billion in delayed payments to universities, counties and Medi-Cal, as well as additional borrowing from outside investors.

Absent these actions, the state would fall below its prudent $2.5 billion cash cushion on Feb. 29, Chiang estimated. On March 8, the state would actually end up $730 million in the red. The state would be below the safe cash cushion for several weeks ending April 13, save for several days at the end of March.

With such actions, Chiang believes the state would not have to use IOUs or delay tax refunds, maneuvers that have been relied upon in previous years. But Chiang also said that "more cash solutions may be required if our revenues continue to erode or if disbursements significantly exceed estimates."

California borrows money early each fiscal year because the state has regular monthly expenses but receives the bulk of its tax revenues in the spring. The state borrowed $5.4 billion last fall for this purpose.

Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield, D-Woodland Hills, downplayed the significance of the new borrowing in a hearing. He said $5.4 billion was small relative to the $10 billion state leaders were prepared to borrow last year.

Some Republicans raised questions about when the borrowing from state accounts from would be paid back and why the state is spending more than expected.

Michael Cohen, chief deputy director of Brown's Department of Finance, said the state would pay back special funds whenever programs need the money to operate. Cohen also said the state is spending more money than expected because courts have blocked some cuts, while some savings may come later in the fiscal year than forecasters predicted.

Updated at noon to reflect comments from today's legislative hearing.
PHOTO CREDIT: Controller John Chiang meeting with The Bee's Capitol Bureau in 2010. The Sacramento Bee / Hector Amezcua

MORE LINKS:
Special fund furlough litigation settled
California state, local government workers among best-paid
Database: Search state worker salaries
Categories: John Chiang, State budget

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  • White Troll
    What a heart warming story; I laughed, I cried....mostly, I laughed.

  • El Duderino
    Ha! Ha! Ha!

    Stew in it!

    California is the ultimate Utopia of Liberalism.

    Best thing to happen would be for it to fall in the Pacific so Utah becomes beach front property and we can start over again.


  • newnormalca
    Let us in California devide the state. From Fresno to Orange County to San Diego and bypass LA. The rest of the state can be Northern California and they get the current Congress and Governer.
    We will start over with nothing from them and no debt from them. We would be known as New Normal California and we would be the state that has very little unemployment and low taxes.

  • JapesMacfarland
    You want to hear something really funny? In Wisconsin, one year ago, they were 3 billion dollars in debt. Now, one year later, they are in surplus of over 300 million. That's ONE YEAR of being free of the Left!
    It never ceases to amaze me how destructive, deceitful, low class and power mad leftists are.

  • SFBay11
    Charge all law-abiding citizens a $2,500 fee per year to carry concealed, loaded pistols.  Better do it now, while you can collect the fee, before the Supreme Court overturns the open-carry ban and shall issue cronyism.  Make some money while you can.  The gang bangers get to carry concealed loaded pistols for free - they won't pay the $2,500 fee.

  • wayne jarrett
    dwindling tax base.....how does that happen???....too many takers and not enough makers...CA is the petri dish for what obummer has planned for the rest of the country...

  • marine72
    Great news! From the experiences of Wisconsin, the only way California has a chance is for it to go bankrupt. Then maybe the granola set will pull their heads out from where the sun doesn't shine and join the real world. Our greatest export now (like Illinois) is businesses to other states. But Hey! we got the USDA cash bonus for our superlative results recruiting more people onto SNAP (food through AMEX cards).

  • cuttingboardblues
    Hi.  I'm CARPETBAGGER SPAM

  • Alma_D_Elder
    No money for the Universities, but we have money for the famous "Train to Nowhere".  I'm planning a house hunting trip to Utah.  As soon as I retire, I am outta here.

  • hamner75
    It's a good thing that 2/3rds of the voters agree with Jerry's tax plan!!

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