• Bloomberg , Tuesday, May 17, 2011 12:49 PM

LinkedIn just increased the price range for its initial public offering, lifting the social network's potential valuation to as much as $4.25 billion. The company now plans to offer 7.84 million shares at $42 to $45 each, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday. As Bloomberg notes, the shares had been offered for $32 to $35 apiece.

"At the top end of the new range, LinkedIn would raise $405.7 million if underwriters exercise an over-allotment option to buy 1.18 million additional shares," Bloomberg calculates. Of great significance to the broader industry, LinkedIn will be the first major U.S. social-networking company to go public.

If all goes well, it may therefore "be the first in a wave of IPOs by other Internet companies," suggests Bloomberg. Groupon, for one, is reportedly considering a public offering, while Facebook has said 2012 will be its year. According to Bloomberg, about 62% of the shares in the offering are being sold by LinkedIn, which said it plans to use the proceeds to scale its business.

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