Unexpected Results: Historic Facebook debut falls flat

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook Inc’s initial public offering (IPO) did not go as planned on Friday, as the social networking company’s sky-high valuation combined with trading glitches left the stock languishing near its offering price at the market close. The $38 Facebook share began trading late Friday and ended flat at $38.23 after peaking at about $45. The IPO was the third-largest in US history and valued eight year old Facebook at $104 billion.  The surprisingly weak debut of a stock that analysts predicted would climb between 10% and 50% is not likely to dent the business prospects of Facebook, which boasts 900 million users and is upending business practices and social relationships around the world.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2012.