Facebook might start IPO roadshow next week

It looks like the countdown to the Facebook IPO could be nearing completion. Facebook could start its IPO roadshow next week and appears to still be on track for a mid-May initial public stock offering, according to reports.

In what is expected to be one of the biggest stock market debuts in history, Facebook appears to be putting the finishing touches on the required documents to be able to begin to court institutional investors such as pension funds, mutual funds and hedge funds, according to reports.

CNBC’s Kate Kelly said on air Tuesday that the highly anticipated tech IPO is “logistically ready” with the documents in hand with the Securities and Exchange Commission “looking favorably” on them, according to her sources.

“It is looking very much like Monday is when Facebook will hit the road, and they will probably start with a meeting at Morgan Stanley -- their lead underwriter -- sometime mid-morning, midday to introduce that sales force their offering,” barring any hitch, she said. “They will then fan out for about 10 days ... and they could start trading as early as May 16 or 17.”

New York Times’ DealBook blog concurs, reporting that the company is in the process of finalizing its prospectus with regulators.

“The presentation to investors -- which should span New York, Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, Baltimore and possibly Los Angeles -- is expected to last eight to nine days,” wrote NYT’s Evelyn M. Rusli, quoting unnamed sources. “Based on that time frame, Facebook will be ready to go public near mid-May.”

Earlier, the Los Angeles Times’ Jessica Guynn reported that Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Chief Financial Officer David Ebersman will take the lead in marketing the IPO, with founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg filling a smaller role.

Ever since Facebook filed for an IPO on Feb. 1, demand for its shares has soared on the secondary market. The public stock offering could raise as much as $10 billion and value the company at more than $100 billion.

On Tuesday, the company also made news in announcing a new initiative to boost awareness of organ donation by allowing users to post their own commitment to donate.

Facebook now boasts 901 million active monthly users worldwide and is available in more than 70 languages.

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