The LinkedIn IPO, which priced last night at $45 a share, has now doubled in early trading to $90 a share, bumping its valuation to $8.5 billion. That makes its founder Reid Hoffman a newly minted billionaire.
At a $90 share price, Hoffman’s entire stake is worth $1.7 billion plus he can expect a nice slice of his venture firm Greylock Partners’ stake, now worth $1.26 billion. As for LinkedIn’s other institutional investors, Sequoia Capital’s stake just shot to $1.5 billion, and Bessemer’s to $412 million (once those firms pay out their limited partners, their carry would be worth over $316 million, $378 million and $102 million, respectively).
Somewhere, Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg and Groupon Founder Andrew Mason are paying close attention to today’s early trading. Groupon is expected to go public by year end; Facebook is expected to hold off until 2012. Sources tell me Groupon is eyeing a $25 billion valuation. Goldman Sachs‘ recent investment in Facebook valued the social network at $50 billion.
If LinkedIn’s debut is any harbinger of what’s to come, Facebook and Groupon’s valuations are on their way up. The one cautionary tale here is Chinese social networking giant RenRen. After pricing its shares at $14, it’s stock closed at $18, or 28.6% above the IPO price on its first day of trading. In the three weeks since it’s NYSE debut, its stock has since slid back to $14 a share.
At a $90 share price, Hoffman’s entire stake is worth $1.7 billion plus he can expect a nice slice of his venture firm Greylock Partners’ stake, now worth $1.26 billion. As for LinkedIn’s other institutional investors, Sequoia Capital’s stake just shot to $1.5 billion, and Bessemer’s to $412 million (once those firms pay out their limited partners, their carry would be worth over $316 million, $378 million and $102 million, respectively).
If LinkedIn’s debut is any harbinger of what’s to come, Facebook and Groupon’s valuations are on their way up. The one cautionary tale here is Chinese social networking giant RenRen. After pricing its shares at $14, it’s stock closed at $18, or 28.6% above the IPO price on its first day of trading. In the three weeks since it’s NYSE debut, its stock has since slid back to $14 a share.
