Facebook Share Demand Forces Up Price

Facebook's flotation is set to be even bigger than the social network initially envisaged as demand for shares reaches fever pitch.

The California-based company has increased the price range at which it plans to sell stock to the public because of high investor enthusiasm.

In a regulatory filing, it said it now expected to sell its stock for between $34 (£21) and $38 (£24) per share - a rise of up to $3 on its previous top end estimate.

The Initial Public Offering (IPO) is expected to be completed late on Thursday and begin trading on the Nasdaq in New York on Friday.

The IPO, expected to be largest ever for an internet firm, would value Facebook at more than $100bn (£62bn) - raising more than 10 times as much as the $1.67bn (£1bn) by Google in 2004.

Facebook is selling 180 million of its shares in the IPO with another 157 million shares coming from existing stockholders, including the company's earliest investors and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Even after the IPO, Zuckerberg will remain Facebook's single largest shareholder, controlling 57% of its voting stock.

But investors have been warned it is going to be tough for the company's fans to get in on the IPO.

Most shares are expected to go to people with connections to the company or large, active accounts with one of the big banks or brokerage firms directly involved in the stock sale including Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase.

There is understood to be so much interest in Facebook's stock that some underwriters are closing their books early, meaning they will not be taking any more orders from potential buyers.