An illustration picture shows the login screen for the website Facebook.Michael Dalder/Reuters
The road show for Facebook Inc.'s initial public offering is scheduled to start on Monday, meaning the company's shares should begin trading on May 18, a source familiar with the process said Tuesday.
Founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, who has mostly operated in the background during Facebook's journey to public markets, will be involved in the road show, another source said.
IPO road shows, in which company management present their strategy to prospective investors, typically last two weeks. If the road show goes particularly well, shares sometimes start trading a few days earlier.
A source familiar with the offering said last week that a recent acquisition spurt by the largest social network could have added about a week to the IPO timetable as regulators signed off on the deals.
However, this review is close to completion, allowing the company to go ahead with the road show on Monday, the source added. The sources did not want to be identified because they are not authorized to speak about the company's IPO.
Facebook is set to raise at least $5-billion (U.S.) in what will likely be the largest Silicon Valley IPO ever.
"I have not seen as broad-based interest in an IPO since Google. Investor demand is immense," said Scott Sweet of research firm IPO Boutique. "I expect a road show that will rival all road shows where investors will be turned away at the door."