Facebook, which is preparing what would be Silicon Valley's largest IPO, has picked Nasdaq over the New York Stock Exchange for its listing, handing an important victory to the technology-laden bourse, a source familiar with the situation said today.
The world's largest social network, with more than 800 million users, is aiming to raise $5 billion or more in a landmark coming-out party currently expected in May.
Its listing selection deals a blow to NYSE Euronext, which has waged an aggressive battle for marquee tech names in past years. The older US exchange snagged LinkedIn and Pandora Media in 2011.
A spokesman for Facebook declined to comment. Nasdaq OMX Group and the NYSE also declined to comment.
Winning the IPO means more fees, a boost in trading revenue and the chance to link an exchange's brand with the largest social-networking website in the world.
Nasdaq lists seven of the 10 biggest US technology companies by market value, including Apple and Microsoft, the two largest, as well as Google and Intel. The NYSE is the home venue for International Business Machines, ranked third.
Nasdaq OMX has more at stake because of the perception it gets all the technology companies, Jamie Selway, head of liquidity management at New York-based Investment Technology Group, said in January.
Facebook, based in Menlo Park, California, filed on February 1st to raise $5 billion in the largest Internet IPO on record. The amount was a placeholder used to calculate fees and may change.
The combined US and German debut of Infineon Technologies AG in 2000 totaled about $5.85 billion, making it the biggest technology offering in history.
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