Is Facebook Worth $100 Billion?

Facebook Inc. has become Exhibit A for the skyrocketing valuations of closely held Web companies.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based social network was valued at $15 billion in October 2007 when Microsoft Corp. invested in the company. By this January, Facebook commanded a $50 billion price tag when Goldman Sachs Group Inc. led a $1.5 billion funding round in the company.

Today, transactions of Facebook stock on private marketplaces value it at about $84 billion. Some people believe that if Facebook goes public next year, it will trade at a $100 billion valuation, more than the market capitalizations of Hewlett-Packard Co. (currently at $74 billion) and Amazon.com Inc. (at $97 billion). A Facebook spokesman declined to comment on valuation.

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