Even though taking Facebook public would turn Mark Zuckerberg's share of the company into a liquid asset worth billions, he still doesn't want an IPO. So how come he is going along with it? Zuck has said before that he thinks an IPO will ruin innovation in exchange for doing what will please shareholders and drive stock prices. In light of this, Facebook has very-real IPO plans. Yet, the founder and CEO still isn't keen on the idea, reports The Wall Street Journal's Shayndi Rice. "If it were up to Mr. Zuckerberg, Facebook would remain private," she writes in an article about Facebook's IPO preparations. 

Zuck's going ahead on the IPO because he basically has to. Zuckerberg knows that once the company has more than 500 shareholders he would have to publicly disclose the company's finances, notes Rice. As early as last January, Facebook said it had planned on increasing its shareholders above 500 within 2011, meaning at fiscal year's end it would have 120 days to disclose. That would make April 2012 the deadline. Given these time sensitive circumstances, Zuck realized this IPO is inevitable. This "ultimately convinced him it was the right step," writes Rice.

Read the full story at The Atlantic Wire.