You're the 27-year-old CEO of a company heading into a massive and highly anticipated IPO. Do you need to show up for the dog-and-pony show with analysts and investors ahead of the offering?
In Mark Zuckerberg's case, the answer is no. The CEO and co-founder of Facebook is staying away from key meetings with Wall Street investors, preferring to run the company instead.
Facebook is looking to raise $5 billion in the initial public offering, which could happen in May, Reuters reports. It has hired a whopping 31 banks to work on the IPO, and Morgan Stanley (MS) won the coveted position of lead underwriter.
Normally, the CEO is a key figure in these pre-IPO meetings with investors. But so far, Zuckerberg has not shown up. The company was instead represented in a three-hour meeting last week by operating chief Sheryl Sandberg and chief financial officer David Ebersman -- two people who can easily handle any question investors throw at them. Three other executives, including the heads of the engineering and product divisions, also made an appearance, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The reason for the meeting is so analysts can ask Facebook questions they may get from large investors who want in on the IPO.
The following video has more details about the IPO.
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Facebook is already telling people that Zuckerberg will have a low profile leading up to the IPO, Bloomberg
reported.
So the big question is whether Zuckerberg's absence will have any impact on the IPO or investors' understanding of the offering. And the answer, of course, is no.
I'm with Henry Blodget, a former Wall Street analyst, on this one. "The way to create the most long-term value is not to spend time sucking up to investors," writes Blodget on Business Insider.
If you are desperate for a successful IPO, and need to convince analysts that they really must throw money at you, then fine. The CEO must be there, and be as charming as possible.
But Facebook has this one in the bag. The IPO will be huge whether Zuckerberg shows up or not. For analysts, the financials will be out and the CFO and business chief are there to answer any and all questions.
Zuckerberg, let's face it, still practically a kid. So he wants to spend his time at the company instead? Let him. And if he bruises Wall Street's ego in the process, I suspect everyone will recover.
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