Facebook IPO rumoured to value company at $100bn

Facebook is rumoured to be gearing up for an IPO in the first quarter of 2012, which could see the social networking site reach a valuation of $100bn (£60bn).

According to CNBC, people "familiar with the matter" have confirmed the rumours, with chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg having already called a Facebook IPO "inevitable" last month.

The rumours follow LinkedIn's recent flotation, which saw the company exceed stockmarket expectations by more than doubling its share price in one day, reaching a value of almost $10bn. Collective buying site Groupon also filed for an IPO earlier this month,

In January, Facebook was valued at $50bn after Goldman Sachs and other private investors put $1.5bn into the company.

Under US law, private companies must make their accounts publicly available if they have more than 500 investors, a figure Facebook is likely to soon pass. In a statement earlier this year, the company said it expects to start filing public financial reports no later than 30 April 2012.

Facebook has declined to comment or confirm the recent rumours.