[mattboardman]

>people familiar with the matter said

Why is this line used everywhere in the news? What is the consequence of getting someone on the record for speculating the value of an IPO? It's the most frustrating and lazy part of journalism.

[solardev]

Sometimes people don't want to go on the record talking about their employer, for fear of repercussions. Employees have minimal protections in the US, and if you get fired, there goes your health insurance, all your prescription medications, dental and vision coverage, your ability to pay rent, pay for auto insurance, etc. We have very poor social safety nets and if you lose your job you mostly lose your life. If you're lucky you might have a couple months of savings, but even that is uncommon outside tech circles.

Not worth it just to appease some journalist.

[mattboardman]

Why not interview someone willing to go on the record that will speculate the IPO value? There are plenty of articles where they interview professional investors with knowledge about such matters who go on the record.

[null0pointer]

They use it because it provides an air of authority when the "person familiar with the matter" could be literally anyone.

[Civitello]

It is used because the alternative is to not provide the information.