LinkedIn IPO Thursday

LINKEDIN IS NOW CONNECTED TO BIG BUCKS: Rather than being buried by Facebook, LinkedIn has managed to flourish alongside the Internet behemoth as its business-oriented social networking equivalent. Consequently, LinkedIn’s IPO, set for tomorrow, could raise more than $405 million, up from an estimate of $315 million earlier this month, the N.Y. Times reports, citing an SEC filing on Tuesday. The site, which now has more than 100 million members in over 200 counties, said it planned to sell more than 7.84 million shares at $42 to $45 apiece. The underwriters have the option to sell additional 1,176k shares if the demand is high enough. At the top end of the price range, the company is now valued at about $4.3 billion, up from more than $3 billion based on earlier pricing. LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman, who’s selling a small number of shares, will net an estimated $5.2 million, assuming the shares price at $45. At that price, his entire stake is worth $852.8 million. Goldman Sachs is to be the largest seller, offering the firm’s entire stake of 871,840 shares. (5/18a)