#Twitterforsale
Six years after its launch, the social networking giant Twitter plans to test public confidence in its future profitability through an initial public offering (IPO) on Nov. 6, with trading to begin the next day on the New York Stock Exchange. In recent days, company representatives have been pitching money managers around the country in what is the most highly anticipated stock offering since Facebook’s in 2012. With opening shares set at $17–$20 each, Twitter could raise an estimated $1.4 billion, with a total value of nearly $11 billion, if available shares sell at the top of the price range. The privately held business claims 230 million active monthly users but has not yet turned a profit. Josh Lerner, the Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment Banking at Harvard Business School, studies venture capital and private equity organizations and heads the School’s entrepreneurial management unit. He spoke with the Gazette about investor...