Kelley explains that a section of the 1934 Securities and Exchange Act known as “the 500 rule” could be the driving force behind the timing of the long-awaited IPO. The SEC (News - Alert) statute requires private companies with more than 500 investors to disclose their financial information on a quarterly basis.

With Facebook nearing the 500-investor ceiling, the company would have extra motivation to go public sooner rather than later. Sources told CNBC that the 500 Rule would most likely go into effect next April, making a first quarter IPO a strong possibility.

Kelley says that another motivating factor pushing Facebook to go public is its employees, who are no longer able to sell their equity in the company on private markets, according to her sources. 

Last year, Facebook forbade current employees from selling their stock to other investors “to better comply with insider trading laws and to protect the interests of the company and its employees and shareholders.” The social networking giant also stopped issuing stock options to new employees in 2007. Instead, Facebook started handing out restricted shares that have no worth until the company goes public, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Facebook's valuation has been a source of conflict for many in both the financial and technology spaces. After all, the company was valued at half that – $50 billion – in January when Goldman Sacks and others dumped $1.5 billion into the social network.

Although Facebook does not disclose its financial information, many sources have speculated that the company will generate operating earnings of $2 billion in 2011 on revenues of around $4 billion.

After interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, Facebook's net income would be in the neighborhood of $1 billion, according Money Watch's Conrad de Aenlle.

“That would value Facebook at an astounding 50 times revenues and 100 times earnings,” he says.

Facebook's ability to support a $100 billion valuation relies on its growth pattern, which has been very average as of late. Inside Facebook recently reported that overall user growth has been down for two consecutive months. In addition, the social networking site saw its user base in the U.S. drop by about 6 million in May.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2011, taking place Sept. 13-15, 2011, in Austin, Texas. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.

Beecher Tuttle is a TMCnet contributor. He has extensive experience writing and editing for print publications and online news websites. He has specialized in a variety of industries, including health care technology, politics and education. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Jennifer Russell