UPDATE: Thursday, May 17, 2012

Facebook says it has priced its initial public offering of stock at $38 per share. That's the high end of its expected range of $34 to $38. It means investor demand is strong for the world's largest online social network.

Facebook now stands to reap as much as $18.4 billion from the IPO, if the extra shares reserved to cover additional demand are sold too. The offering values the company at around $104 billion.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Facebook's initial public offering could be one of the largest in history if its stock prices at the high end of its expected range on Thursday.

Facebook Inc. will likely price its IPO late Thursday, meaning that the investment banks orchestrating the offering will determine the price at which they plan to sell the stock to their clients. Facebook's stock is expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market on Friday.

At the top of its expected price range of $34 to $38 per share, the offering could reap a $16 billion windfall for Facebook and its selling shareholders. That would make it the third-largest U.S. IPO in history, according to Renaissance Capital. And it would be the seventh-biggest IPO in the world.