Fenwick & West and Simpson Thacher lead as Facebook takes US listing

Documents for the highly anticipated listing were filed yesterday, revealing Fenwick corporate partner and firm chairman Gordon Davidson, corporate partner Jeffrey Vetter and corporate associate James Evans as the named advisers to the social networking giant. The deal was run out of the firm’s Mountain View office.

Simpson Thacher was named as the adviser to the underwriters, which included Morgan Stanley as lead bank, JPMorgan in the second position and Goldman Sachs in third, with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital and Allen & Company also on the roster.

Palo Alto corporate partners William Hinman and Daniel Webb were named as the lawyers for the investment banks.

The document also cites Facebook general counsel and former Kirkland & Ellis partner Theodore Ullyot, whom the company hired as legal chief in 2008. Deputy general counsel David Kling and associate general counsel Michael Johnson were also involved.

Facebook is valued at $80bn, making founder Mark Zuckerberg worth $22.7bn. Zuckerberg will retain control of the company. The company will either list on Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange.