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Facebook's Top Investor 'Pretty Sure' It Can Grow Once Public
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Special to CNBC
Facebook’s biggest investor does not think there is a tech bubble, and said he’s “pretty sure” the company can continue to grow for a long time once it becomes public.
The social-networking site could file for its long-anticipated initial public offering as early as Wednesday, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
“I think there’s a time to be private and a time to be public, and I think that companies like Facebook and Groupon [GRPN
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] are basically transformational companies,” said Yuri Milner, head of the investment group DST, in an interview with CNBC.
“You don’t come across them very often, and I’m pretty sure that they can continue to grow for a long time even being public.”
Milner is also an investor in Zynga [ZNGA
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] and Groupon [GRPN
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], two companies that recently went public.
Although some, including Facebook’s first president Sean Parker, have alluded to a possible tech bubble, Milner does not see one.
“I don't think that we're in a bubble because the majority of all IPOs in the last 12 months actually traded below the IPO price,” he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “So, actually, it is not the sign of a bubble.”
In what could be one of the largest initial public offerings in U.S. history, Facebook is looking at a valuation of $75 billion to $100 billion, according to the report. Its IPO is forecast to raise $10 billion.
Milner added his predictions for the consumer Internet space: In the next 10 years, he thinks there will be 25 companies with a market cap of more than $25 billion and 50 companies with a market cap of more than $10 billion.
Additional News: Facebook May File for IPO By Wednesday: Report
Additional Views: Facebook’s IPO Strategy
Disclosures:
Yuri Milner is Facebook's biggest investor.
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