Media: Goldman ‘friends’ Facebook
In a deal that could double the estimated $6.9 billion personal fortune of chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook secured $450 million in funding from Goldman Sachs, plus another $50 million from a Russian investor, said Andrew Ross Sorkin and Evelyn Rusli in NYTimes.com. The investment “signals the increasing might of Facebook” and gives the social-networking site “more firepower” to develop new products and make key acquisitions without having to go public. Insiders say the deal values Facebook at $50 billion—more than eBay, Yahoo, or Time Warner.
Actually, this infusion of cash only “heightens the likelihood that Facebook will go public, probably in 2012,” said Sam Gustin in Wired.com. By fronting the money to Facebook, Goldman is essentially securing the rights to take the company public eventually. “It’s a predictably savvy investment by Goldman.” Zuckerberg, a 26-year-old Harvard dropout, has been “cool to the notion” of a public offering, but “he knows as well as anyone” that an IPO is in the cards. In the meantime, the Goldman deal will make it easier for early Facebook investors and employees to sell their shares. Indeed, some early investors are likely eyeing a “handsome exit.”
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