LinkedIn IPO values company at over $3 billion

Parent company of the professional social networking website LinkedIn announced today that it would offer 7.84 million shares, at a price of $32 to $35 per share, in its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. If all goes according to plan, the IPO will place the value of the company at more than $3 billion, reports Reuters.

Of LinkedIn’s 7.84 million Class A common stock shares available, roughly 4.8 million come directly from the company, while the other more than 3 million come from stock holders. In total, LinkedIn has 94,498,627 shares outstanding.

Total sales of the stock are expected to reach around $274 million. But because of taxes and fees, LinkedIn expects to raise approximately $146.6 million in funds once all is said and done — notably less than the $175 million the company previously said it was looking to raise from an IPO. The company says it will use this money to fund general corporate needs, which include sales and marketing ventures, as well as other business operations like administrative services and capital expenditures.

Currently, LinkedIn Chairman and co-founder Reid Hoffman is the company’s largest individual shareholder, with 21.7 percent of the company. Venture capitalist firms Sequoia Capital and Bessemer Venture Partners hold the second and third largest chunks of the company, respectively. These companies will not be participating in the IPO.

LinkedIn, which employs more than 1,000 people, currently boasts 100 million members in 200 countries worldwide. That benchmark was hit less than two months ago, near the end of March, with help from its growing popularity in countries like Brazil and Mexico. In 2010, LinkedIn brought in $243 million in revenue, earning it $15.4 million in profit.

The LinkedIn IPO comes ahead of a hotly anticipated public stock offering from social networking giant Facebook. Estimates of Facebook’s value range between $20 billion and $100 billion.

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