This article misses a very important point: that Facebook wouldn't be required to start reporting its financial earnings until May 2012, 120 days after the last

This article misses a very important point: that Facebook wouldn't be required to start reporting its financial earnings until May 2012, 120 days after the last day of its current fiscal year. http://mashable.com/2011/01/03/facebook-ipo-may-2012/ http://mashable.com/2011/01/03/facebook-ipo-may-2012/ This week's move essentially buys Facebook 16 months of time until it has to IPO. So yes, Facebook will essentially have to go public, but it won't be for a while. Goldman and Facebook knew exactly what they were doing.