Tonight, it’s almost certain that bars around Facebook’s new headquarters in Stanford Research Park will be busy. Tomorrow, the offices of Facebook’s employees may be full of new toys and gadgets. It seems that Russian investment firm Digital Sky Technologies wants to buy $100 million of common stock from employees.
Brad Stone reported, “The firm is offering a price of $14.77 a share, which would value the company at $6.5 billion . . . . If the offer is fully subscribed, as it likely will be, D.S.T. will hold a 3.5 percent stake in Facebook.”
This is hardly a takeover, then, and it’s important to note that Facebook’s execs aren’t allowed to cash out. Also, the common stock valuation isn’t as far off from other numbers we’ve seen tossed around as you might think. (Facebook’s stock repurchase program valued the company at $4 billion, which is a better comparison than the $15 billion figure stemming from the Microsoft preferred stock deal.)
This is just a way for DST, which invested $200 million in Facebook in late May, to get a slightly larger piece of the company.
It’s also, of course, a way for Facebook’s employees to see a little money in return for their loyalty. (Although the Facebook parking lot isn’t likely to fill up with Bentleys and Aston Martins as a result.)
And finally, Mark Zuckerberg stated, “This is recognition of Facebook’s growth and progress towards making the world more open and connected.”
