Facebook on Track for I.P.O. Roadshow

By EVELYN M. RUSLI

Tony Avelar/Bloomberg News

Facebook’s chief financial officer, David Ebersman, is expected to play a large role in the roadshow.

Facebook is still on track for a mid-May I.P.O.

Tony Avelar/Bloomberg News
Facebook’s chief financial officer, David Ebersman, is expected to play a large role in the roadshow.

Despite whispers of delays, Facebook is wrapping up its prospectus with regulators and may begin its roadshow as soon as early next week, according to two people briefed on the company’s plans. The presentation to investors — which should span New York, Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, Baltimore and possibly Los Angeles — is expected to last eight to nine days, these people said. Based on that time frame, Facebook, the world’s largest social network, would be ready to go public near mid-May.

These people cautioned that the company’s plans could change based on the actions of regulators, market conditions or unforeseen circumstances.

AllThingsD earlier reported that Facebook was expecting to receive approval from regulators this week and could begin its roadshow next week.

Although the company’s chief financial officer, David Ebersman, is expected to play a large role in the roadshow, it is still unclear which meetings Facebook’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, will attend, the people with knowledge of Facebook’s plans added.

The roadshow is likely to be heavily scrutinized by prospective investors and the broader industry. Facebook’s initial public offering is on track to be the largest Internet I.P.O. on record, dwarfing the recent offerings of Zynga and Groupon, as well as Google’s debut in 2004.

While interest runs high, Facebook’s executives will have to outline a compelling picture for investors in the coming weeks, to justify a valuation of $100 billion or more and to offset lackluster first-quarter earnings. In the first quarter, Facebook’s profits fell 12 percent to $205 million, amid mounting expenses.