Is LinkedIn, the business-oriented social networking site launched in 2003, really worth $3 billion?
The folks at LinkedIn certainly think so.
According to new reports published Monday, LinkedIn will offer 7.84 million shares in its initial public offering (IPO) at $32 to $35 per share.
Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and J.P. Morgan are leading the deal.
The online platform for professionals and job seekers now boasts 100 million members worldwide. It will be one of the first major social networking companies to go public, even beating Facebook to what many see as an inevitable IPO.
For the quarter ending March 31, LinkedIn reported net revenue of $93.9 million, up 110% from $44.7 million in the same quarter last year.
The company has three main revenue lines: hiring solutions, marketing solutions and premium subscriptions. Hiring solutions is the largest piece, at $46 million in revenue in the quarter–it also grew the fastest, up 174% from the year-ago period.
According to Forbes, LinkedIn’s largest shareholders are founder and chairman Reid Hoffman (21.2%), Sequoia Capital (18.7%), Greylock Partners (15.6%), and Bessemer Venture Partners (5.1%.)
All told, each will sell “very small pieces of their stakes.”
