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Facebook Inc, the world's largest social-networking service, is aiming to file for its initial public offering as early as this week, two insiders have said. The company is discussing a valuation of $75 billion to $100 billion, said the two people, who asked not to be identified because the plans haven't been made public. Timing for the filing is still being discussed and may change, they said. The IPO would provide funds to help Facebook maintain its expansion and fend off competition from Internet rivals such as Google Inc and Twitter Inc. The company has discussed raising $10billion in the offering, another unidentified source said in November. Facebook may set its price at the low end of the valuation range to entice investors and ensure the stock rises after the IPO. Facebook is close to hiring Morgan Stanley to handle the deal and Goldman Sachs Group Inc will probably play a "major role" in the IPO, the Wall Street Journal said on Friday. The newspaper was first to report that Facebook may file its paperwork as early as this week. Shareholders of Facebook faced a three-day suspension of trading on secondary markets on Friday. While buy and sell orders could be made, transactions wouldn't be processed by Facebook's attorneys at Fenwick & West LLC. Halting the trading, which had allowed employees and early stakeholders to buy and sell shares, didn't mean the filing is imminent. Still, some companies suspend trading ahead of a filing to make sure that investors can't exchange shares until all of the information is public. | 
