Facebook To Pay Banks 1.1% Fee For Managing IPO

Facebook Inc. will pay a 1.1 percent fee to underwriters of its initial public offering, or about half the average fee for deals of $10 billion during the past five years, according to Dealogic, which tracks securities offerings.

The low fee reflects the prestige value of the deal, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Facebook is seeking to raise $5 billion in an IPO managed by 31 banks, including lead underwriters Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Bank of America Corp., Barclays PLC and Allen & Co. It's expected to be the largest IPO of an Internet company to come to market in the United States. The offering is expected to be completed around May.

Jonathan Thaw, a spokesman for the Menlo Park, Calif., company, declined to comment on banker fees, according to Bloomberg News, which earlier reported the news. In a regulatory filing this month, Facebook said it received an $8 billion package of financing, including a five-year, $5 billion revolving credit line and a 364-day, $3 billion bridge loan. It also named 25 additional underwriters.

While a fee of 6 percent to 7 percent is more typical for such deals on Wall Street, according to Reuters, in addition to the prestige factor, bankers also may be willing to take a lower cut on the high-profile IPO in hope of generating future business.

Senior Facebook executives met Monday with analysts and bankers in Menlo Park, according to various news reports. CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who isn't expected to go on the road to help sell the social-networking site to potential investors, didn't attend the meeting.

David Ebersman, the company's chief financial officer, told those present at the 3 1/2-hour meeting that Zuckerberg prefers to focus on developing Facebook's service. The meeting was intended to let analysts ask questions that potential investors might have about the offering.

Two people in February told Bloomberg that Facebook's banks could collect a fee of 1 percent to 1.5 percent from the IPO.