Facebook delaying IPO until late 2012

Facebook plans to wait until late next year before going public, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

The newspaper, citing people close to the company, said Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg "wants to wait until next September or later in order to keep employees focused on product developments rather than a pay-out."

A number of technology companies have recently delayed their initial public offerings because of the volatility in the stock market but the FT said Facebook's plans "have been set according to internal interests."

The CNBC business news network reported earlier this year that Facebook was likely to conduct an IPO in the first quarter of 2012 with a valuation of over $100 billion.

Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive, has repeatedly said he is in no hurry to take the company public.

The Palo Alto, California-based Facebook is the world's largest social network with more than 750 million members.

(c) 2011 AFP