It's well known that Zuckerberg wants to keep secret much of the information that Sarbox (and various other rules affecting public companies) would require him to release.
I'm sure Facebook could afford several million/year on Sarbox compliance. But what is the benefit to them? As you said, connected insiders (such as Zuckerberg and Goldman's clients) are doing just fine with Facebook remaining private. So why bother with the hassle of Sarbox, potential minority shareholder lawsuits, and liquid markets that might go down more quickly than the current illiquid one?
Well, my contention was that sarbox is a tiny piece of the puzzle, just to make it clear. Closing a few loopholes and adding a few new costs didn't radically change the game to my mind, compared to the already-huge distinction between public and private. Although you know more about this stuff than I do.
I'm certainly not saying that FB is under any obligation to go public if they don't want to. Just that in this particular case, Goldman is primarily trading on them not being public rather than trading on their value. I mean, good for them for exploiting a bug, I guess, but this is why I think the financial industry are, in the large, a bunch of charlatans :)
I'm sure Facebook could afford several million/year on Sarbox compliance. But what is the benefit to them? As you said, connected insiders (such as Zuckerberg and Goldman's clients) are doing just fine with Facebook remaining private. So why bother with the hassle of Sarbox, potential minority shareholder lawsuits, and liquid markets that might go down more quickly than the current illiquid one?