Russian investors stump up $200 million for Facebook stake
In a move which values social networking site Facebook at $10 billion it has been revealed that a Russian investment group by the name of Digital Sky has paid $200 million for a 2% stake in the operation. While there is no doubt that Facebook has been amongst the more successful of the various social networking websites, many believe the valuation of $10 billion is significantly below the figure the company was valued at after an earlier deal with Microsoft ($240 million for a 1.6% stake).
However, when you consider the company has outperformed the vast majority of other social networking websites by a substantial amount, as well as the current financial environment, this may turn out to be a well timed fundraising exercise and the money will come in very useful. The company itself is still privately held although many expect a flotation on either the US or the UK stock market as and when the worldwide economy starts to recover. Seen by many as a fad, social networking sites have proved to be very lucrative for many although we have seen a number of websites crash and burn over the last few years.
The problem which websites such as Facebook have is their ability to "milk money" from their 200 million users on a regular basis. The company has become more and more inventive in its advertising which is starting to pay dividends.
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