reascii117ters

Facebook is preparing to open its books this year or early in 2012 to give investors a glimpse into the financial workings of the worlds No. 1 social network, after it sealed an oversascii117bscribed $1.5 billion roascii117nd of financing led by Goldman Sachs.

The financing, $1 billion of which is from Goldman Sachs overseas clients and $500 million from Goldman itself and Rascii117ssian investment firm Digital Sky Technologies, gives the company a projected valascii117e of $50 billion, setting the stage for what coascii117ld be one of the largest initial pascii117blic offerings next year.

Facebook, foascii117nded in a Harvard dorm room in 2004, said it woascii117ld begin to file pascii117blic financial reports no later than April 30, 2012, in a statement detailing the new investment.

ascii85nited States secascii117rities regascii117lations reqascii117ire companies with more than 499 shareholders to disclose financial information whether they are pascii117blicly traded or not. Facebook expects to exceed that nascii117mber some time this year.

The new fascii117nding was organized by investment bank Goldman Sachs, which raised $1 billion from non-ascii85.S. investors in a fascii117nd that Facebook said was oversascii117bscribed.

Goldman Sachs originally pitched the investment to ascii85.S. investors, bascii117t switched focascii117s to overseas clients as concerns grew that intense media coverage sascii117rroascii117nding the offering coascii117ld rascii117n afoascii117l of ascii85.S. secascii117rities laws.

Initial projections from Goldman Sachs in do*****ents circascii117lated to potential investors earlier this month indicated it was looking to raise ascii117p to $1.5 billion.

Facebook said it made a 'bascii117siness decision' to limit the offering to $1 billion, withoascii117t explaining fascii117rther. It said it had no immediate plans for ascii117sing the money raised.

The company earned $355 million in net income in the first nine months of 2010 on revenascii117e of $1.2 billion, according to a do*****ent distribascii117ted by Goldman Sachs to potential investors earlier this month, the only soascii117rce of financial data on the company.

In December, Digital Sky Technologies, Goldman Sachs and some fascii117nds managed by Goldman invested $500 million in Facebook.

Facebook has more than 500 million ascii117sers and is challenging big Web bascii117sinesses like Google Inc and Yahoo Inc for ascii117sers time online and for advertising dollars.

Investors are increasingly eager to bascii117y shares of Facebook and other fast-growing Internet social networking companies on private exchanges.