Business-based social network LinkedIn plans to sell stock at $32 to $35 per share in an initial public offering that would value the professional social-networking firm at more than $3bn, the company said in a government document.
As the first US social-networking firm to go public, LinkedIn is capturing the attention of investors who want to cash in on a hot technology sector now dominated by the much larger Facebook.
Founded in 2003 by Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn, has carved its niche as a site for professional workers to create business and job-hunting connections. It has become a major professional networking organisation with more than 100 million members in more than 200 countries.
In an amended public offering registration filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, LinkedIn said it hopes to raise up to $274.1 million, an increase from the $175 million the Mountain View firm projected when it first filed IPO plans in January.
LinkedIn did not say when it plans to start trading on the New York Stock Exchange, under the ticker symbol LNKD, although trading could begin later this month.
According to the SEC filings, LinkedIn brought in revenues of $93.9m in the first three months of this year, more than double the $44.7m in the same period in 2010. Profits rose to $2.1m from $1.8m.
Unlike Facebook, the world’s dominant social network, which is expected to go public next year, LinkedIn charges many of its members for premium services, such as the ability to connect easily with potential contacts. It also makes money selling adverts on the site, and from charging recruiters who want easy access to its users.
The valuations of social networking companies and similar businesses, including Facebook, Zynga, Twitter and Groupon, have been soaring on private markets this year, as user numbers surge and advertisers target users.
Last week, the Renren, a Chinese social network, priced its shares at $14 when it went public on the NYSE. The stock closed at $16.03 per share, down 4.58 percent, in trading on Monday.