Roadshow floats plan for IPO

THE countdown to the world’s biggest internet flotation began in earnest yesterday as sources revealed the investor roadshow for Facebook’s massive initial public offering will begin on Monday.

Roadshows, at which company managers try to woo prospective investors by explaining their strategy, typically last for two weeks and so Facebook could join the New York stock market on 18 May, the sources added.

Facebook is likely to raise $5 billion (£3bn), valuing the business at about $100bn and making it the largest ever IPO.

News of the dates came amid conflicting reports over advertisers’ experiences of using Facebook, with some questioning how many extra sales they actually made by using the site, while others claimed the firm was too busy to take advert bookings.