Investors who have been eagerly awaiting the stock-market debut of Facebook for much of the past year have reason to cheer — it looks like the tech company's initial public offering is coming earlier than expected.
According to the Wall Street Journal, which cites "people familiar with the matter," the social media giant's IPO has been moved up to sometime between April and June of next year. It had been reported earlier that the IPO wasn't expected until the end of 2012.
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Facebook plans to raise $10 billion through the offering, giving the company a valuation of $100 million. That would make it the biggest tech IPO in history.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg had originally wanted to delay the IPO because he believed that the company is well-capitalized, and he wanted to keep the focus on product development, according to an earlier report in the Financial Times.
It had been a white-hot market for Silicon Valley IPOs this year, with the likes of Zynga and Pandora either making or planning their public debuts. But the market for tech stock cooled along with the economy. Facebook is expected to reinvigorate that enthusiasm.
A spokesperson for Facebook did not immediately respond to requests for comment.