Facebook to go public?

NEW YORK, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Privately held U.S. technology giant Facebook said in a document sent to investors it would cross a barrier this year that could force it to go public.

Facebook sent the 100-page document to "a select group of investors," The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. In the position paper, the firm said it would have more than 500 investors sometime this year, the number the Securities and Exchange Commission considers the limit for a privately held company.

This week, Facebook initiated a private share offering through Goldman Sachs Group Inc., intending to raise $1.5 billion. The rush to get in on the action validated the assessment of Facebook as a company worth about $50 billion, which was revealed when Goldman and Russian firm Digital Sky Technologies recently invested $500 million in Facebook.

Both Facebook and Goldman declined to comment on the question of an initial public offering. Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has previously said he is not interested in the Internet social network going public.

An initial public offering would likely take place in 2012, the Journal said.