Mr. Zuckerberg (Facebook.com)
Like most hotly anticipated IPOs, there are plenty of people who’d like a piece of Facebook, and even all the ad-revenue-related doubts in the world aren’t going to change that. Typically, only a small slice of shares are available to mom-and-pop investors. But according to Dealbook, Facebook wants a higher percentage reserved for retail investors, perhaps even as much as 20 to 25 percent for retail investors.
Dealbook suggests the decision is a statement of corporate values:
The company is seeking to give retail investors a bigger cut because it sees itself as a service created for, and driven by, consumers. One person briefed on the offering, who declined to be identified because of regulatory restrictions, said Facebook sees itself as “the people’s company.”
Pro-tip: If your company has a long history of privacy-related blunders, it’s best not to use any terminology reminiscent of Animal Farm.
Any retail investors who might get a shot at Facebook stock are likely to be making choices in, let’s say, an exuberant atmosphere. There’s that emotional road show video, which makes investing in Facebook feel like a West Wing episode. Lead underwriter JP Morgan is psyched as hell, hanging a massive Facebook flag outside its headquarters and going big on the swag. All that leads Henry Blodget to go ahead and label the whole thing “muppet bait”:
1) At $100B, Facebook’s IPO is very speculative. The stock could easily trade for half that.
— Henry Blodget (@hblodget) May 4, 2012
2) Most individuals should NEVER, EVER buy IPOs. They have no idea how little they know relative to full-time pros
— Henry Blodget (@hblodget) May 4, 2012
3) Facebook is already enormous “muppet bait”. Everyone thinks it’s a sure thing. JP Morgan ad will stoke those flames read.bi/JRvHSj
— Henry Blodget (@hblodget) May 4, 2012
Also worth noting: The sage of Omaha and friend to Jay-Z, Warren Buffet, plans to sit this one out.
Follow Kelly Faircloth on Twitter or via RSS. kfaircloth@observer.com
