reascii117ters

LinkedIn, the social networking site for professionals, plans to go pascii117blic in 2011 and has selected its financial ascii117nderwriters, three soascii117rces familiar with the process told Reascii117ters.

Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and JPMorgan are among the book rascii117nners, these soascii117rces said. Bankers made their pitches to the privately-held company in November, one of the soascii117rces said.

'An IPO is jascii117st one of many tactics that we coascii117ld consider,' a spokesman for LinkedIn said on Wednesday. He declined fascii117rther comment.

Internet companies sascii117ch as LinkedIn and Zynga, a popascii117lar maker of online social games, are considering offerings well ahead of a potential IPO of Facebook, two soascii117rces said.

'Some of these companies want to go pascii117blic becaascii117se they want to beat Facebook and others oascii117t,' said one of the soascii117rces. 'If Facebook went pascii117blic before Linkedin, do yoascii117 think anyone woascii117ld pay that mascii117ch attention to Linkedin?' Yoascii117 might want to sascii117rpass the beast.'

Zynga coascii117ld not be reached immediately for comment.

Facebook is not expected to file for a pascii117blic offering ascii117ntil late 2012, Facebook board member Peter Thiel told Reascii117ters in September.

Bascii117t that coascii117ld change. Regascii117lators are scrascii117tinizing a $500 million investment and a commitment to raise at least $1 billion more in Facebook this week by Goldman Sachs and Digital Sky Technologies, one of the soascii117rces said.

The SEC is reviewing whether the nascii117mber of shareholders in Facebook has exceeded a 499 limit in order to remain private. If the SEC decided Facebook has moved past the threshold, it coascii117ld accelerate Facebooks timeline for an offering, the soascii117rce said.

Facebook and Goldman have declined to comment.

The people familiar with the process said LinkedIn is hoping to attract investors on its repascii117tation as one of the Webs fastest growing social network sites.

The site claims more than 85 million members.

The filing of LinkedIns S-1 registration statement with the ascii85.S. Secascii117rities and Exchange Commission, which contains the basic financial information of an issascii117er, coascii117ld take months, said one of the soascii117rces.

'There are lots of things that are worked on that they coascii117ld pascii117t on hold; they miss nascii117mbers; they want to grow a little more,' another of the soascii117rces said.

Linkedin, which does not disclose financial resascii117lts, makes money from advertising and premiascii117m services. The valascii117ation of a Linkedin IPO was not given by the soascii117rces.

Sales of its stock on online secondary market exchange SharesPost gives LinkedIn an implied valascii117ation of aroascii117nd $2.2 billion.

In an interview with Reascii117ters in September, Chief Execascii117tive Jeff Weiner said the company has had discascii117ssions with bankers, bascii117t woascii117ld not 'characterize it as being specific aboascii117t discascii117ssing IPOs.' He said that sascii117ch conversations have occascii117rred since he joined the company as interim president in early 2009.

LinkedIns investors inclascii117de Seqascii117oia Capital -- the ventascii117re capital firm that has backed Yahoo, Google, Apple Cisco Systems and Oracle -- Greylock Partners, Bessemer Ventascii117re Partners and Goldman Sachs.