25 Oct 2013

Twitter shares to sell for up to $16.70

9:59 am on 25 October 2013

Twitter is to sell 70 million shares priced between $US17 and $20 (between $14.20 and $16.70) when it makes its debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

This offering - which represents 13% of the company - values Twitter at as much as $US10.9 billion, making it the biggest internet company to go public since Facebook.

Last month the microblogging site announced its intention to float.

However, despite big user figures - Twitter currently has 200 million active users, who send more than 500 million tweets a day - the company has yet to turn a profit.

The BBC reports that, according to advertising consultancy eMarketer, it is expected to post $US 583 million in revenue in 2013, up from $288 million in 2012.

Most of Twitter's revenue comes from advertising, with companies paying for "promoted tweets".