2012 could be big for Internet IPOs

With Facebook considering the largest Internet IPO on record and regulatory filings showing at least 14 other Web-related companies are planning sales, the industry may raise $11 billion next year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That would be the most since $18.5 billion of IPOs in 1999, just before the dot-com bubble burst.

While surging sales growth may lure investors to Facebook, the biggest social-networking site, heightened stock volatility and Europe's sovereign-debt crisis could temper the pace of global IPOs after a 38 percent decline in 2011. Even Internet companies may cut valuations for their offerings after Zynga, the largest developer of games for Facebook, and online-radio company Pandora slumped following share sales this year, according to Morningstar Inc. research.

"You might see more IPOs emerge if we get resolution in Europe or stability that makes investors more comfortable with the overall market," said David Erickson, New York-based global co-head of equity capital markets at Barclays Plc.

Facebook, based in Menlo Park, Calif., is examining a $10-billion offering that would value it at more than $100 billion, a person with knowledge of the matter said last month. Total sales at Facebook in 2012 may surge 52 percent to 62 percent from this year's projected $4.27 billion through increased ad revenue, according to EMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson.

Tech offerings generally offer real growth, J.D. Moriarty, New York-based co-head of equity capital markets for technology in the Americas at Bank of America Corp., said earlier this month.