LinkedIn IPO up by 30 p.c., to go up to $352 mn

BANGALORE: LinkedIn Corp, which runs a social network for professionals, said the pricing of its initial public offering was increased by 30 per cent, as investors clamour to ride the social networking wave.

The new pricing range of $42-$45 per share, up from a previously expected $32-$35, values the 9-year old company at a little over $4 billion.

At about 17 times LinkedIn's 2010 revenue, the IPO is still cheap compared with 78 times for Renren Inc, the Chinese site often likened to Facebook and which made a successful U.S. debut earlier this month.

Also read: LinkedIn valued at over $3 bn in IPO

LinkedIn doubled its revenue last year to $243.1 million and posted a net income of $15.4 million.

Companies like Facebook, Twitter, Groupon and Zynga have whetted investor appetite and made social media one of the hottest sectors around. Their shares, traded in markets for private investors, command multi-billion-dollar valuations.

On its debut, Renren soared 29 per cent, but the stock has since dropped to below its IPO price amid investor apprehension over accounting issues and fears of China's strict regulations.

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Of the 7.84 million shares LinkedIn is offering, 4.83 million will come from the company and the rest from some of its stockholders.

Shares owned by LinkedIn co-founder and ex-PayPal executive Reid Hoffman, who is among those stockholders selling shares in the IPO, would represent about 21.7 percent of voting power after the offering.

Other big stakeholders offering shares include Goldman Sachs, McGraw-Hill Companies Inc and Bain Capital Venture Integral Investors LLC.

Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and JPMorgan are among the bookrunners for the LinkedIn IPO.