Facebook to File $5 Billion IPO: Report

The rumors about a Facebook IPO could becomef facts by this time Wednesday.

The rumors of Facebook 's IPO took a twist Tuesday afternoon when Reuters got a source who put a dollar figure on the filing.

The IFR source said Facebook would submit paperwork Wednesday for a $5 billion initial public offering.

The number could still go up, according to some analysts, who believe the actual IPO may still try to raise closer to $10 billion.

Any Facebook employees who could be millionaires from pre-IPO stock will still have to wait months before they can cash out. All that stock first has to be traded on Wall Street and then it has to vest. Going public is expected to make about 100 Facebook employee millionaires.

This used to happen often in the Silicon Valley in the late 1990s when IPOs were a bi-weekly occurrence. Those were the "go go days." Nowadays, public offerings are few and very far between.

Facebook was expected to raise as much as $10 billion, which would have valued the company at $75 billion to $100 billion, making it one of the largest IPOs ever.

A stock usually starts trading three to four months after the filing.

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and company heated up speculation that the company was getting ready to go public last week by blocking approval of company shares sold in the secondary market.

Facebook is also facing a federal mandate that will require the social network to begin disclosing financial information by April.

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