Buckle up everybody: Facebook’s initial public offering, the most highly anticipated tech stock market debut since Google’s 2004 IPO, is one step closer to actually happening.
This morning Facebook filed an 8-A form with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which indicated that it has received approval from the NASDAQ stock exchange to offer its shares to the public. The brief filing reads in part:
“The Registrant’s Class A common stock to be registered hereunder has been approved for listing on the NASDAQ Global Select Market of The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC under the symbol ‘FB.'”
It’s a standard step, but it indicates that despite various rumors about pricing difficulties and potential delays, the ducks are nearly all lined up for Facebook to hold its IPO later this week as has been expected for some time. Still, it’s important to note that the company has not confirmed any official date for its offering, and is unlikely to do so until we’re within 24 hours of when its stock will start trading.
Facebook started the official process toward going public back on February 1st, when it filed its first S-1 document with the SEC. Since then it has updated that document several times to reflect news such as advertising revenue changes and its $1 billion acquisition of Instagram. Meanwhile, CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other Facebook executives have undertaken the traditional “road show” process, both digitally and in-person, to explain the company’s strategy to potential investors. While Zuckerberg’s unorthodox dress code has raised some eyebrows in the finance world, it seems that the process is ultimately still running along at a normal pace.
Indeed, if all continues to go as planned, we’re at the start of what should be a very, very big week for the tech and finance industries at large.