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I think the real reason FB went public even though zuck “didn’t really want to” is so they could hide behind shareholder value as their excuse for everything. P
by cityzen 8y ago
I think the real reason FB went public even though zuck “didn’t really want to” is so they could hide behind shareholder value as their excuse for everything. Public companies don’t go public to innovate, they go public to make everyone money. This is the model currently destroying America.
- beagle3 8y agoMore likely for the same reason Google went public; when above some size, US companies have essentially all the reporting and disclosure requirements of a public company. When companies reach that stage, the rational thing to do is .. go public, so you’d also get the benefits (share liquidity and ability to raise money publicly)
- cityzen 8y agoI wasn’t aware of that, good point. I’m sure either way the “shareholder value” gimmick is still a viable excuse for FB making these kinds of decisions.
- tialaramex 8y agoIs this true? Google LLC appears to be completely opaque. Its owner, XXVI is likewise opaque. Only their owner, Alphabet, is a public company. If Google was above this magic size before it became an LLC, why didn't the LLC also count? I'm not saying you're wrong, but something didn't add up
- beagle3 8y agoThis is a new restructuring from 2015 IIRC. It was Google inc that went public, and originally all the projects (including self driving car) were under google. Alphabet was created later, together with splitting Wayne and a few others. I don’t remember all the different triggers, and each triggers a different reporting requirement - more than 500 shareholders, more than $X billion paid to suppliers, stuff like that. Google, and later Facebook met all of them.