Interpublic to sell half its Facebook stake for $133 million
Facebook, which is mulling a public listing, has roughly 2.4 billion outstanding shares, according to data from secondary market company Sharepost.
Advertising company Interpublic Group said it would sell about half of its stake in Facebook for $133 million.Interpublic did not reveal the number of shares it would sell, but said it will record a pre-tax gain of $132 million on the sale.Facebook, which is mulling a public listing, has roughly 2.4 billion outstanding shares, according to data from secondary market company Sharepost.In April, The Financial Times had reported that Interpublic owned a 0.4 percent stake in the world's No 1 social networking site. Based on that, Monday's deal would value Facebook at $65.50 billion."The Strategic value of our initial investment (in Facebook) has moderated, while the financial value of that stake appreciated significantly," Chief Executive Michael Roth said in a statement.In June, investment fund GSV Capital Corp bought 225,000 shares in Facebook at an average price of $29.28 each, valuing the world's No 1 social networking site at about $70 billion.Interpublic also said it plans to increase its share repurchase plan by $150 million to $450 million. It had purchased repurchased about $187.6 million of shares till August 12.Shares of the company closed at $8.46 on Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.