Yelp’s $2 Billion IPO to Hit in Early 2012

Yelp has hired Goldman Sachs and Citigroup to lead its $1.5 billion to $2 billion IPO in the first quarter of 2012, according to a report.

Yelp is expected to file its prospectus by the end of this year, reports The New York Times, which cites “several people briefed on the situation.” Yelp could not be reached for comment.

The company, which is known for its online reviews of local businesses, announced plans to go public in April. Previously, Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman had said he wouldn’t consider an IPO for “several years.” Yelp also turned down a $500 million takeover bid from Google in early 2010.

Yelp’s planned public offering comes after a series of social media IPOs. LinkedIn’s May IPO was considered successful, and though Groupon pushed back the timing of its public offering a couple of times before going public last week, that IPO was also well-received.

Zynga, another social media company looking to go public, also delayed its planned IPO, though the company is now said to be preparing to offer shares to the public the week before Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, the biggest social media IPO of them all, Facebook’s, is now set for late 2012, according to a report.