Goldman Sachs Says "**** You America!"

[KrazyHorse]

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/01/...pagemode=print



Who will defend this poor company from such slanderous slurs?

Certainly not I.

[KrazyHorse]

On-topic, Goldman Sachs are and always have been scumbags. They don't just bamboozle you out of your money, they change the rules in their favour and pre-emptively act on events that they are going to create.

Your analysis is obviously well-informed and reflects a coherent view of the world.

[Koyaanisqatsi]

'Tis a patriotic act; this way when Facebook implodes only foreigners will lose their money. Learning from the dotcom era

[KrazyHorse]

According to media reports the offering was oversubscribed by about a factor of 5. How many of you would buy into facebook at a 50 billion USD valuation?

[Dauphin]

I wouldn't. I might change my mind (or affirm my view) if I actually saw the basis of the valuation though.

[KrazyHorse]

Again, media reports I've seen have reported that facebook claims about 2bill a year in revenue. I haven't seen any reports of profit or recent revenue growth. I'm sure that the people who got the offer received such reports, however.

EDIT: media reports are apparently all over the place.Some claim 1bill in 2010, 550 mill in 2009 while others claim 800 mil in 2009, 2 bill in 2010.

[giblets]

Goldman rescinded the offering to U.S. clients because of scrutiny from the S.E.C., which had opened an inquiry into the structure of the offering and whether it violated the law because the deal had been widely reported on in the media.

Federal and state regulations prohibit what is known as “general solicitation and advertising” in private offerings. Firms like Goldman seeking to raise money cannot take action that resembles public promoting of the offering, like buying advertisements or communicating with media outlets.

Why?

[Dauphin]

Again, media reports I've seen have reported that facebook claims about 2bill a year in revenue. I haven't seen any reports of profit or recent revenue growth. I'm sure that the people who got the offer received such reports, however.

EDIT: media reports are apparently all over the place.Some claim 1bill in 2010, 550 mill in 2009 while others claim 800 mil in 2009, 2 bill in 2010.

No such thing as audited accounts for 2009 (for what they're worth)? Hmmmm.

[KrazyHorse]

Why?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_D_%28SEC%29

[KrazyHorse]

No such thing as audited accounts for 2009 (for what they're worth)? Hmmmm.

I have no idea whether or not there are audited accounts. All I know is that the media is not particularly enlightening on what the final numbers are/were. Do you happen to know what the reporting requirements for a private company are? How would the media have access to them?

[Dauphin]

I don't know what the deal is in the US, but I would imagine the requirements are not too dissimilar to the UK. Private companies have to file accounts within 10 months of the year end. Once filed they are public information - all you need is a subscription to Companies House (directly or through research companies like Mint, Factiva, Fame etc). There are exemptions, but I do such research regularly, and can't recall ever not getting something basic like revenue for a company that isn't categorised as "small".

Newspapers would easily have access.

[Dauphin]

I could possibly get Facebook's financial statements using my firm's international companies search tools, if I was so inclined.

[KrazyHorse]

Financial news reporters are often hilariously ignorant and lazy. The fact that they are reporting a spectrum of numbers even for 2009 might just mean that they are basing their reports on 2009 outlooks published a year before.

[Dauphin]

You think they do that much research? "What number would be most sensational (and believable of course)" might be a thought process.

[KrazyHorse]

This seems to belie your view on how much facebook has to disclose publicly:

http://www.insidefacebook.com/2010/03/02/facebook-made-up-to-700-million-in-2009-on-track-towards-1-1-billion-in-2010/

Facebook is a private company, and we do not publicly disclose our financial results. We understand there is a great deal of interest and curiosity in our past and potential financial performance. However, external attempts to forecast revenue are fundamentally speculative and should be treated as such. We’re focused on building our business to be successful over the long-term.