By MICHAEL LIEDTKE
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Facebook wrapped up its much-anticipated roadshow in Silicon Valley on Wednesday, the day before its initial public offering.
The offering is expected to raise as much as $16 billion, making it one of the biggest in Internet history. Facebook plans to sell its shares to investors on Friday at $38 a piece.
The tour is a whirlwind of meetings and presentations designed to whet investor interest in a company that has amassednearly a billion users and is trying to convince investors that it can translate its popularity into long-termprofits.
On Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg met with money managers in Menlo Park, just a few miles from the company's headquarters in Palo Alto. He was joined by Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and ChiefFinancial Officer David Ebersman.
The three executives will then head to New York City to meet with investors there on Thursday before Facebook makesits market debut on the Nasdaq Stock Market on Friday.
Facebook's IPO has generated enormous buzz, with some investors hoping to get rich by buying its stock. But there is also plenty of skepticism about whether the company can meet inflated expectations and turn a profit in the future.
Facebook has been rapidly expanding its business in recent years and is expected to generate more than $4 billion in revenue this year. But the company has also lost money in five of the past seven years and has yet to turn a profitin a single quarter.
Some analysts believe that Facebook is overvalued at its proposed offering price of $38 a share. They argue thatthe company's growth is slowing and that it faces increasing competition from Google, Twitter and other socialnetworks.
Others are more bullish on Facebook's prospects, pointing to its massive user base and its ability to attract advertisers. They believe that Facebook is a long-term investment that has the potential to generate significant returns.
Only time will tell whether Facebook's IPO will be a success. But one thing is for sure: it will be one of the most closely watched public offerings in history.
