Facebook IPO expected to increase by 25 percent

GlobalPost

The Facebook IPO will reportedly be getting a 25 percent increase after the company files a petition to add an additional 85 million shares.

According to CNBC, this could increase Facebook's initial public offering to $18 billion dollars.

The social networking site is expected to go public this Friday, with a share price between $34 to $28 dollars.

The new shares will come from insiders and early investors, so the company won't benefit from the additional sales, according to the AP.

The largest number of shares will come from investment firms DST Global and Tiger Global. The AP also reported, Facebook board members Peter Thiel and James Breyer will be selling their shares along with Goldman Sachs who is doubling the number of shares it is selling. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg will be maintaining his shares.

More from GlobalPost: Facebook IPO date set for May 18

While Facebook stock may be the most highly anticipated thing to hit Wall Street in a while, there are concerns over the long-term viability of the social media giant.

Facebook reports having over 900 million members. Nearly 50 percent of those members are considered "active" because they log on at least once a day. Facebook's chief revenue strategy is through advertising. However, several large advertisers are pulling out prior to the IPO.

Reuters reported GM is one of those companies pulling their ads from Facebook.

Max Wolff, an analyst at GreenCrest Capital, told Reuters, "This is much more a spectacle, a media event and a cultural moment than it is an IPO. This is not a game of models and fundamentals at this point."

Ford, another of Facebook's largest ad partners, said it will continue its relationship with Facebook.

According to CNET,  the new stock price range values the company as high as $104 billion.

More from GlobalPost: Facebook approaches 1 billion users

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