Will Facebook Go Public in 2012?

Rumors are getting legs at a fast pace at to whether or not Facebook will decide to go public in 2012 because of the investor interest in the company, which if it surpasses 500, they'll have to reveal their finances to the public, removing one of the reasons for staying private.

There are only one basic reason a company goes public, and that's to raise capital. Since Facebook seems to have no trouble doing that privately, it seems to imply they've been planning a public move in 2012, or they didn't understand fully the consequences of Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) investing in the company via numerous individuals or entities.

The government evidently must have started to pressure the company after the Goldman deal, or at least there have been indications they have, and that could drive Facebook public as well.

Why 2012 is important is that's the year they would have to unveil their finances to the world, and if that's the case, there's no more reason to stay private, even if they have the interest of investors to pull them through.

They must reveal their finances and strategies because they will apparently go beyond the 500-investor rule in 2011, which causes the regulation to be triggered.

The regulation requires disclosure 120 days after the fiscal year is over when the 500 threshold is reached.

Since FACE is already taken as a ticker symbol, maybe they should consider "ZUCK."