Does Facebook Even Need To IPO?

Does Facebook really need to IPO? That's what some are wondering. With the massive infusions of cash the company has recently had, from Goldman Sachs GS and Digital Sky, it's not like the company needs to go public anytime soon, or even at all. Why bother with all the fuss is what some are asking. For the 26 year-old CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is it really worth it? Absolutely. If Facebook wants to keep attracting top talent in Silicon Valley and steal them from Google GOOG and other top tech titans, it needs to use its shares as currency. If you're an employee of the company, you can trade your shares on the secondary market, as well as buy them, if you meet the requirements. With Facebook closely approaching the 500 investor threshold set by the SEC for a company to go public, you're not going to keep attracting top talent if the company doesn't eventually go public. You can't tell your top engineer that he or she is going to be a multimillionaire in a few years when the company is valued at $80 or $100 billion, if the company doesn't eventually go public. Despite all the headaches that a public company has to deal with that a private one doesn't, they're necessary headaches if you want to keep growing. Sorry naysayers, Facebook has to go public. It's just the way it is.