Early Monday, a Facebook spokesman declined to comment on the timing or details of an IPO. But at a conference late last month, chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg called a Facebook IPO “inevitable,” describing it as “the next thing that happens.”

Another factor motivating the likely new issue, say the people familiar with the matter, is the desire to increase employee compensation. Early last year, Facebook put curbs on employees’ ability to sell their company shares privately to other investors—a move that may now be prompting employees to quit Facebook in order to be able to monetize their shares.

Were the company to go public, however, employees would be able to sell their stock on the open market at various times during the year, allowing them to cash in on their holdings.

Back in January, when Goldman Sachs and other private investors put $1.5 billion into Facebook, the company was valued at a reported $50 billion.

More recently, reports of private-market transactions have suggested a far higher valuation in the $85 billion range.

Come New Year’s, say the people familiar with the matter, they expect Facebook—which has more than 600 million users and is growing fast—to be worth $100 billion or more.

Follow Kate on Twitter: @katekellycnbc



