Facebook IPO Date: May 17 Might Be the Magic Day

Here's some news devout Facebook followers and savvy investors are sure to "like" - don't write it in ink just yet, but looks like May 17 could be the Facebook IPO date.

While Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) refused to comment, "multiple sources close to the company" say that is the date, according to TechCrunch.

Ever since Facebook filed the necessary papers to go public in February, speculation has run rampant as to the exact timing. Late spring sprung up as the most likely time, but no precise date was set.

The social network giant will make a grand entrance with a value around $100 billion. It seeks to raise $10 billion at a $100 billion valuation, give or take a few billion dollars.

The actual timing of the IPO depends on how quickly the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission completes reviewing the initial public offering paperwork, which just became more involved following Facebook's recent acquisition of Instagram.

Many are clamoring for a piece of the action. CNET's Paul Sloan writes that the Instagram purchase may be a winning detail the myriad and ever-growing list of bankers working on the IPO needs to promote the stock even more.

Indeed, the Instagram acquisition pointedly addressed one of the major risk factors Facebook listed in its lengthy S-1: a lack of mobile users.

Tapping into Instagram's 40 million strong and growing, loyal and steadfast mobile users, Facebook addresses that weakness, TechCrunch notes.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook honcho Mark Zuckerburg pounded out the Instagram deal with co-founder Kevin Systrom in a mere three days, almost entirely skipping by Facebook's board. The WSJ commented that while that may fly in the storied world of start-ups, it would not sail by so smoothly in the blue-chip universe.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB)

Facebook is the world's largest social network. In its short and fabled history, Facebook has amassed more than 800 million users worldwide.

Founded by Mark Zuckerburg in February 2004, it initially served as an exclusive network for Harvard students. In just 14 days, half of the schools in the Boston area rallied for a Facebook network.

Facebook's users are a committed and passionate bunch spending multiple hours every day on the site. It is the sixth-most trafficked site in the United States, and top photo-sharing site.

Its competitors, few and distant, include MySpace, Friendster, Bebo, LinkedIn, Tagged, Hi5, Piczo, Open Social and Pinterest.

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