Facebook valued at £66 billion as shares floated

FACEBOOK shares are being offered to the public for $38 (£24) each in one of the biggest ever US stock flotations.

Facebook is now valued at around $104 billion (£66bn) and stands to reap up to $18.4bn (£11.6bn) from the sale of hundreds of millions of shares.

Founded in a Harvard dorm room eight years ago, the social networking site is expected to launch its initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

It was expected prices would be set at between $34 and $38, meaning demand from investors has been high.

Trading is set to begin under the ticker symbol FB two days after massive interest in the sale prompted the firm to boost the number of shares it plans to sell, with 84 million more – worth up to $3.2bn (£2bn) – being added to the IPO.

But the entire increase comes from insiders and early investors, so the company will not benefit from the additional sales.

Facebook board members Peter Thiel and James Breyer are among those selling more shares.

Facebook said shareholders are now offering approximately 241 million shares, up from about 157 million shares previously.