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Facebook will go public on May 18, a published report says, in one of the most highly anticipated tech initial public offerings since Google went public in August 2004.

Despite rumors of delays, Facebook could begin its roadshow as soon as early next week, according to two people briefed on the company's plans.

Facebook’s market debut has been expected to be in mid- to late May, but a report from CNBC indicates that the process could take a little longer than analysts expected. The report, citing unnamed “people familiar with the matter,” pinpoints June as the new expected time range for the IPO and says Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has been so busy with business and acquisitions that the company hasn’t had time to put the final touches on its prep for going public.

Facebook Inc reported its first quarter-to-quarter revenue slide in at least two years, a sign that the social network's sizzling growth may be cooling as it prepares to go public in the biggest ever Internet IPO.

Yahoo has put the IP squeeze on Facebook, slapping it with a patent lawsuit during the quiet period in the run up to the social network's IPO.

Consumer review website Yelp Inc's shares traded more than 60 percent above their initial public offering price in their market debut on Friday, as investors rushed to buy a piece of the growing local advertising market... Yelp's shares were trading up 62 percent at $24.60 on Friday morning. At that level, the company is valued at about $1.43 billion -- about 17 times its 2011 revenue.

It's likely that investors will see a first-day rise in Yelp's shares during its IPO this week, but the ability of the online review site to hold on to those debut gains is debatable.

Don't expect a initial public offering of shares of Twitter anytime soon. CNN is reporting that the company has placed restrictions on employees who hold shares, forcing them to keep 80 percent of the shares they own. The cable news outlet cited company emails about the policy, which has been in effect for a year, and said at least one high-level employee resigned because of the policy....

Without the free content created by its 850 million users, Facebook would surely not be on the verge of a multibillion-dollar initial public offering.