Read the text about The Facebook IPO. Some phrases are highlighted and explained below. Don’t forget to answer the quiz and leave comments about the discussion questions.
Possibly the biggest business news so far this year has been the announcement that Facebook is filing for an initial public stock offering (IPO). For the average person, Facebook is just a place to meet and chat with friends online but in reality it’s an extremely profitable company. It has redefined the internet as a social experience and created millions of people who will always be known as ‘the Facebook generation’. So let’s take a look at what exactly FB’s latest move means:
FB IPO Facts:
1) It is the biggest IPO of a technology company since Google and its only happening so the CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, can pay tax on his stock options.
2) There are rumours that other investors may follow suit but it all depends on how quickly those first shares are snapped up.
3) The company is owned by its founder, co-founders, staff, venture capital firms/clients and even Bono from the Irish pop band U2.
4) An initial $5 billion of shares will be offered but analysts expect this to rise to an incredible $10 billion or possibly higher.
5) Despite all the competition from Twitter, it is worth splashing out on some shares in FB because in 2011 alone it banked an unbelievable $1 billion profit. That was almost ¾ more than the previous year and forecasts look rosy for 2012.
6) Revenues are pretty staggering, estimated at around $4 billion, the majority originating from advertising. The only issue is that FB seems to rely possibly too much on some of its main advertisers.
7) Growth at FB hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. Besides opening new offices and hiring staff, they are investing in data centres and new technology.
8) The million dollar question on everybody’s lips is ‘where will the money go?’. Well, apparently employees will receive a financial wind fall on account of their stock units but the remaining amount will go on further acquisitions of technology companies. This is intended to keep FB, a company which some see as past it, contemporary.
For those of you eager to get your hands on your own piece of FB you will have to wait until early May when the shares of the company will be floated on the stock market.
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Business English IPO phrases
- Announcement
- A public statement
- Filing for an initial public stock offering (IPO)
- An official request to sell company shares on the stock market
- In reality
- The real situation is
- Redefined
- Given a new meaning
- A social experience
- Involving people and relationships
- The Facebook generation
- A group of people who grew up with Facebook
- Latest move
- Most recent action
- CEO
- Chief Executive Officer: the top person in a company
- Stock options
- A reduced rate for employees to buy company stock
- Rumours
- Gossip/talk about things that have not been officialy confirmed
- to follow suit
- to copy
- Snapped up
- Bought sth quickly
- Founder
- The person who started a company
- Co-founders
- People who helped start a company
- Venture capital firms
- Investment companies
- Clients
- Business customers
- Initial
- The first
- Analysts
- People who investigate, do research and give an opinion on events/information/data
- Splashing out on
- Spending money on
- Banked
- Earned
- Forecasts look rosy
- Future estimates seem positive
- Staggering
- Unbelievable
- Estimated
- An amount people believe will be true
- Originating from
- Coming from
- To rely possibly too much on
- To be over dependent on
- The million dollar question on everybody’s lips
- The important question everyone is thinking of
- A financial wind fall
- A large sum of money people receive
- Acquisitions
- Purchased companies
- To be past it
- Out-of-date
- Eager to get your hands on sthg
- Really wanting/enthusiastic to have sthg
- Floated on the stock market
- Made available to the public
Discussion questions
Leave your opinion in the comments section below and a teacher will reply
- Would you invest in Facebook?
- What will happen to the company in the future?
