LinkedIn IPO boosted by 30%, to raise up to $352 mn

LinkedIn Corp, which runs a social network for professionals, said the pricing of its initial public offering was increased by 30%, as investors clamour to ride the social networking wave.

The new pricing range of USD 42-USD 45 per share, up from a previously expected USD 32-USD 35, values the 9-year old company at a little over USD 4 billion.

At about 17 times LinkedIn's 2010 revenue, the IPO is still cheap compared with 78 times for Renren Inc, the Chinese site often likened to Facebook and which made a successful US debut earlier this month.

LinkedIn doubled its revenue last year to USD 243.1 million and posted a net income of USD15.4 million.

Companies like Facebook, Twitter, Groupon and Zynga have whetted investor appetite and made social media one of the hottest sectors around. Their shares, traded in markets for private investors, command multi-billion-dollar valuations.

On its debut, Renren soared 29%, but the stock has since dropped to below its IPO price amid investor apprehension over accounting issues and fears of China's strict regulations.

Of the 7.84 million shares LinkedIn is offering, 4.83 million will come from the company and the rest from some of its stockholders.

Shares owned by LinkedIn co-founder and ex-PayPal executive Reid Hoffman, who is among those stockholders selling shares in the IPO, would represent about 21.7% of voting power after the offering.

Other big stakeholders offering shares include Goldman Sachs, McGraw-Hill Companies Inc and Bain Capital Venture Integral Investors LLC.

Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and JPMorgan are among the bookrunners for the LinkedIn IPO.