The Financial Times reports that Facebook doesn't plan to go public until late 2012. This apparently is surprising, given the amount of times the story has appeared in my Twitter feed. But it shouldn't be.
First, let's be clear: Facebook hasn't actually "delayed" anything. It never registered for an IPO, let alone prepped a roadshow or a formal offering date. Instead, there was widespread speculation that the social network would go public early next year -- or late this year -- because that's the time when it's expected to bump up against the so-called 500-shareholder rule.
For the uninitiated, that rule subjects any private company with 500 or more shareholders to reporting requirements that are similar to those of public companies. So similar, in fact, that most companies in this position simply go public. Think Google (GOOG) back in 2004. But there isn't actually any requirement that companies do so. Facebook has the option to remain private indefinitely, allowing existing shareholders to generate liquidity via the private secondary markets.
Want to know more? Check out http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/09/14/reminder-facebook-does-not-need-to-go-public/?iid=SF_F_LN
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