Sorting Through The Facebook IPO-Related Rumors

There’s no shortage of speculation and rumors about Facebook’s upcoming initial public offering, some of it plausible, some of it not so much.

First off, the Wednesday date that has been making the rounds from several sources does not mean that the actual IPO will occur Wednesday or Thursday.

If anything actually occurs this week, it will involve Facebook registering the offer and disclosing information that it was previously able to keep private.

The Wall Street Journal is also being more cautious with Facebook’s valuation, pegging it at $75 billion to $100 billion, while several other media outlets are running wild with the $100 billion figure. We saw that the company’s valuation on SharesPost closed at $79 billion, so that’s the number we need to stick with.

And then there’s the matter of which bank will be named lead underwriter, Morgan Stanley or Goldman Sachs. Reports have surfaced about Facebook having issues with each of them — with Morgan Stanley for leaking information, as reported by CNBC and expanded upon via Twitter by Fox Business’ Charles Gasparino; and with Goldman Sachs for its mishandling of a private placement last January.