Early Facebook Investors Want Out

A group, including employees, looks to dump shares
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 28, 2011 7:45 AM CDT
Facebook Investors Look to Dump Stock
The Facebook logo is displayed at a news conference in New York in this November 6, 2007 file photo.   (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, file)

In a sign of increasing wariness among Facebook's earliest investors, a group of shareholders is looking to dump $1 billion worth of shares in the social networking company. The sale would value Facebook at more than $70 billion, five sources tell Reuters. The group, which includes Facebook employees, tried and failed to sell at a price that would have valued the company at $90 billion.

The move, which would be one of the largest transactions of Facebook shares thus far, indicates a concern that the site is overvalued and won't be able to keep up with its valuation. Though investors have pushed to grab pieces of the company before it goes public, Reuters talked to several investors who think it's a better idea to pass. "At the current valuation where it is, it is really hard to justify the investment," says one. "It's hard to imagine it will turn into a $270 billion company in the next few years." (More tech bubble stories.)

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