Facebook may do an IPO in the second quarter

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Facebook Inc. may be closing in on an initial public stock offering.

The granddaddy of social-media companies is considering an IPO sometime in the second quarter of next year, although the exact timing has not yet been determined, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The company reportedly is contemplating a $10-billion offering that would value the company at $100 billion.

Investors have anxiously awaited a chance to buy into the fast-growing technology goliath following a string of IPOs this year from smaller social-media companies.

The timing of Facebook’s IPO is likely to hinge in part on the condition of the stock market, which has not been kind lately to some other prominent tech IPOs.

In a major disappointment, shares of one of this year’s most closely watched IPOs, online-coupon company Groupon Inc., have plunged recently. The stock closed Monday at $15.24, far below the $20 price at which it sold shares to investors earlier this month.

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-- Walter Hamilton