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Calif.-based social networking site connects more than 85 million professionals.
LinkedIn may be the first company to quench investor thirst for the red-hot social networking market.
Despite months of headlines from Facebook, Groupon and Twitter, the Mountain View, Calif., company which connects more than 85 million professionals could be first out of the gate. It has been quietly preparing an initial public offering for as early as the first quarter.
LinkedIn has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase to advise it after a round of interviews in November. The size of the offering is not known, but it’s expected to be small relative to the company’s valuation. LinkedIn’s implied valuation on the private trading marketplace SharesPost is $2.2 billion.
Tapping the public markets could be a smart play for LinkedIn, which could benefit from heightened investor interest in social media and get out in front of a blockbuster Facebook IPO expected in 2012.
“LinkedIn has its own story to tell, and this gives them a window to get out there and tell that story,” said BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis. “Even though the business models are different, it’s wise for LinkedIn to get out there and avoid getting lost in the Facebook noise.”
A LinkedIn spokesman declined to comment on the speculation. “An IPO is one of many tactics that we could choose to pursue,” he said in an e-mailed statement. “We are focused on building our business and doing what is in the best long-term interest of LinkedIn members and shareholders.”
LinkedIn, which has more than 1,000 employees, may not have the explosive growth of Facebook, but it is one of the first social media websites to become profitable.