Twitter plans to raise $1bn in IPO

Social networking company Twitter has said it plans to raise $1bn (£619m) in its stock market debut in documents filed with US regulators.

In the filing, revealed on Thursday, the seven-year-old company said that it now has 218 million monthly users and that 500 million tweets are sent a day.

It made a loss of $69m in the first six months of 2013, on revenues of $254m.

It will be the largest Silicon Valley stock offering since Facebook's listing in 2012.

Analysts said that the offering was likely to get a good response.

"Social media is red hot," said Internet analyst Lou Kerner. "Twitter is front and centre benefiting from market enthusiasm for all things social, and remarkably strong metrics."

Financial details

The filing also revealed Twitter's finances for the first time.

While the company has never made a profit, its revenue has grown from just $28m in 2010 to $317m by the end of 2012.

Around 85% of Twitter's revenue last year came from ad sales; the rest was from licensing its data.

The company takes in a significant portion of its ad revenue from mobile devices, an important metric often tracked by analysts.

As of 2013, over 65% of the company's advertising revenue was generated from mobile devices. More than 75% of Twitter users accessed the site from their mobile phone during that same time period.

Some analysts said that the decision by the firm to raise capital indicated that it was keen on improving the way people enjoy content on its platform and how advertisers connect with its users.

"Users should be happy about this," said Zachary Reiss-Davis, an analyst with Forrester.

"It looks like Twitter is looking at how to enrich the experience and it understands that to build a successful service, they have to create something people like and want to come back to and spend time on."

Peter Esho from Sydney-based Invast Financial Services, added that Twitter's ease to use had seen it increase its user base, making it an attractive option for advertisers.

"I think what Twitter has working in its favour is that it's very easy to use: it doesn't eat up too much bandwidth for the average user in places where broadband penetration is low," he said.

The filing also revealed that two of the company's co-founders, Evan Williams and Jack Dorsey, own significant stakes in Twitter, and could stand to take in significant sums from the company's stock market listing.

Mr Williams owns 12% of shares in the company, while Mr Dorsey owns 4.9%.

Benchmark Capital's Peter Fenton, an early investor in the company, is the second-biggest shareholder, with 6.7% of shares.

Advantage Nasdaq?

Twitter indicated three weeks earlier that it had filed for a public stock market offering.

However, under a new law passed by Congress in 2012, it did not have to reveal its financial documents because it had revenue of less than $1bn.

But by releasing the documents publicly, it gave an indication that it hopes to complete its stock sale soon.

The company plans to list under the stock symbol TWTR, but it did not reveal which stock exchange, the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange, it had chosen.

However, Mr Esho said that the listing was likely to be on the Nasdaq.

"I was to speculate, I think it would have to be Nasdaq," he said. "That really is the exchange that has seen so many tech names come to the market."

Goldman Sachs is the lead bank taking the company public, a coveted position that is often fought for amongst the nation's biggest banks.

The other banks helping with the offering are Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, BofA Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank Securities and CODE Advisors.

Champions league T20 2013 final

CLT20 final: It's Sachin Tendulkar vs Rahul Dravid for last time-

Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid - will be up against each other for the last time as both the batsmen will quit the shortest format after the Champions League Twenty20 final at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Sunday.

Mumbai Indians' opener Tendulkar and Rajasthan Royal skipper Dravid had, both, announced earlier that this would be their final Twenty20 season.

The 40-year-old Dravid had retired from international cricket at the beginning of 2012 while Tendulkar, who retired from One-Day International (ODI) cricket last December, still plays in Tests.

Mumbai and Rajasthan have played each other four times this year, and the honours have been even. Both won their home matches in IPL 6, Mumbai won the second IPL qualifier in Kolkata, and Rajasthan won the inaugural game of CLT20 2013.

That makes things look balanced. However, the IPL champions Mumbai Indians have the experience of playing and winning two matches at Kotla, where the final is to be played, while Royals have played all their matches at home.

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Ambati Rayudu, Aditya Tare, Rishi Dhawan, Abu Nechim, Akshar Patel, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Smith, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn Maxwell.

Rajasthan Royals: Rahul Dravid (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson (wk), Ashok Menaria, Dishant Yagnik, Vikramjeet Malik, Harmeet Singh, Rahul Shukla, Pravin Tambe, Shane Watson, Kusal Perera, James Faulkner, Kevon Cooper.

Cricket World Cup 2011 opening ceremony

             In a nation where rickshaws continue to be the most popular mode of conveyance, it is Bangladesh's way of fusing tradition with modernity. The Pontings and Sangakkaras may find Thursday's rickshaw ride amusing but, for the 14 rickshawalas handpicked to ferry the cricketing luminaries --- it could well be a life-changing experience.

             As television cameras capture the moment and telecast the images to a worldwide audience, they will not only get their two minutes of fame but also become part of World Cup history, leaving the rest of their ilk to envy these chosen 14. The much-hyped rickshaw ride is not the only thing that will be on view during the two-hour-long opening ceremony whose tickets have long been sold out.

              A few thousand fans who braved long queues and to buy tickets can consider themselves lucky because it offers them two shows for the price of one. The gates of the stadium will open at 2.30pm (3pm IST) and fans will be treated to a pre-show (from 4 to 6pm) before the big show gets under way with the welcome song --- O prithibi, tumi aaj chine nao (O world, it's time to know us) --- sung by local artistes. The high point of the function is expected in the segment where Canadian rock singer Bryan Adams takes over from top singers from the three host nations --- Bangladesh, Indian and Sri Lanka --- following the formal opening of the tournament by prime ministerSheikh Hasina, who has spared no effort in branding the country's image with the ICC's quadrennial showpiece event.   
              Three of Bangladesh's top lady singers --- Runa Laila, Sabina Yasmin and Mumtaz will kick off this segment by belting out some of their chart-bursting numbers, while the mellifluous voice of Sonu Nigam will tug at our heart strings even as the 14 skippers enjoy a rickshaw ride. And there will the trio of Shankar, Ehsan and Loy to sing the theme song De Ghuma Ke (whack it will all your might) in Hindi, Bengali and English to set the tone of the competition which involves a staggering 49 matches spread over six weeks.

              There will also be a band from Sri Lanka to entertain the fans before Adams gives it to us straight from the heart in what promises to be a one night love affair. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), which was keen to rope in Shakira for the opening ceremony, opted for Adams after the representatives of the Colombian singer reportedly asked for a cool $2 million appearance fee! An aerial cricket show, touted to be first of its kind, promises to wow the spectators.

                The last time the World Cup was staged in the sub-continent in 1996, the opening ceremony at the Eden Gardens had been an unmitigated disaster. First-time co-hosts, Bangladesh, are taking every precaution to prevent any glitches. Having spruced up the nation's capital for the World Cup, the Hasina government is ready to showcase Bangladesh in a new light even as Dhaka doubles up as the capital of the cricket world for the next few days.