近期有消息指出社交网站LinkedIn计划于2011年公开发行股票。据悉，美国银行，摩根士坦利和摩根大通自去年11月便入驻LinkedIn。对此，LinkedIn发言人仅表示股票上市一直在公司的发展考虑之中。

据游戏邦了解，一直以来LinkedIn等网络公司和社交游戏开发巨头Zynga均有计划赶在Facebook社交网站之前完成上市。对于部分网络公司而言，先于Facebook上市正是为了击败Facebook社交网站。毕竟Facebook一旦上市必然瓜分走众多投资者的投资热情。然而2010年9月Facebook董事会成员Peter Thiel透露Facebook并没有在2012年底前上市的计划。

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当然，计划也可以有所变化。上周，高盛银行都和数字天空技术追加10亿美元投资Facebook社交网站。最近，美国证券交易委员会正在对Facebook股东人数是否超过499的上线进行审查。一旦经美国证券交易委员会核实Facebook股东人数超过上限，Facebook便有可能加快上市步伐。

目前，社交网站LinkedIn拥有8500万用户。然而如果要实行上市计划，LinkedIn仍需花费数月提高用户数量及财政状况。据网络二手证券市场SharesPost估测，社交网站LinkedIn的估值约为22亿美元。

在去年9月路透社的采访中，LinkedIn首席执行官Jeff Weiner表示公司一直以来都与多位银行家保持着紧密联系，这绝不仅仅只是为了考虑上市问题。据游戏邦了解，社交网站LinkedIn的投资方包括Sequoia Capital（红杉资本），Greylock Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners和高盛投资银行等。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，转载请注明来源：游戏邦）

LinkedIn, the social networking site for professionals, plans to go public in 2011 and has selected its financial underwriters, three sources familiar with the process told Reuters.

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

“An IPO is just one of many tactics that we could consider,” a spokesman for LinkedIn said on Wednesday. He declined further comment.

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

“Some of these companies want to go public because they want to beat Facebook and others out,” said one of the sources. “If Facebook went public before Linkedin, do you think anyone would pay that much attention to Linkedin?” You might want to surpass the beast.”

Zynga couldn’t be reached immediately for comment.

Facebook is not expected to file for a public offering until late 2012, Facebook board member Peter Thiel told Reuters in September.

But that could change. Regulators are scrutinizing 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 sources said.

The SEC is reviewing whether the number 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 could accelerate Facebook’s timeline for an offering, the source said.

Facebook and Goldman have declined to comment.

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

The site claims more than 85 million members.

The filing of LinkedIn’s S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which contains the basic financial information of an issuer, could take months, said one of the sources.

“There are lots of things that are worked on that they could put on hold; they miss numbers; they want to grow a little more,” another of the sources said.

Linkedin, which does not disclose financial results, makes money from advertising and premium services. The valuation of a Linkedin IPO was not given by the sources.

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

In an interview with Reuters in September, Chief Executive Jeff Weiner said the company has had discussions with bankers, but wouldn’t “characterize it as being specific about discussing IPOs.” He said that such conversations have occurred since he joined the company as interim president in early 2009.

LinkedIn’s investors include Sequoia Capital — the venture capital firm that has backed Yahoo, Google, Apple Cisco Systems and Oracle — Greylock Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners and Goldman Sachs.（Source：reuters）