Early Facebook backers to cash in on IPO with extra $3bn share sale
Some of Facebook’s earliest backers plan to sell an additional $3bn worth shares in today’s initial public offering, as they take advantage of a wave of interest in the social network group’s flotation.
The move will increase the number of shares on offer by 25 per cent, with proceeds flowing to existing investors such as Goldman Sachs, Tiger Global Management and Accel Partners.
Investor demand has been stoked by a cross-country US roadshow over the past two weeks, allowing Facebook to increase the size of its offering from $12bn to as much as $18bn.
However, the company continues to rankle some large institutional investors who fear that the IPO’s rising price and heavy insider selling could make Facebook shares more volatile after their market debut. The company lifted its price range to $34 to $38 this week, from the $28 to $35 initially indicated.
“We’re seeing a whole new level of insider selling. It went from something you can explain  . . . to something that’s harder to,” said Sam Hamadeh, a former banker and chief executive of PrivCo, a boutique research firm.
Typical IPOs see limited selling by management and early investors, as incoming shareholders expect the interests of key board members to remain aligned with their own.
The market for Facebook’s shares is “massively oversubscribed” with especially strong demand by individual investors, according to an investor survey by advisory firm IPO Boutique. The deal now could raise as much as $18bn if, as expected, an overallotment is exercised, making it the second-largest US IPO ever.
The largest additional sales are by Tiger Global Management, a hedge fund, that plans to sell 23m shares, up from more than 3m previously. Goldman Sachs, which drew attention for scuttling plans to market pre-IPO Facebook shares to US investors, has more than doubled the number of shares it plans to sell, raising up to $1bn.
While the number of shares being sold directly by Facebook remains at 180m, worth $6.8bn at the top of the range, board members Peter Thiel and James Breyer are both increasing their sales. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder, is not selling additional shares. The sale will leave about 20 per cent of company shares in public hands.
Facebook最早期的部分出资人计划在今日的首次公开发行(IPO)中将售股规模增加30亿美元。人们对这家社交网络媒体上市的兴趣极为浓厚。
此举将使得Facebook可认购股票数增加25%。售股所得将流向高盛(Goldman Sachs)、老虎环球基金(Tiger Global Management)和阿塞尔伙伴公司(Accel Partners)等现有股东。
Facebook过去两周在美国的全国路演激发了投资者的兴趣，从而使得该公司将发行规模从120亿美元提高到至多180亿美元。
然而，Facebook继续让部分大型机构投资者感到恼火——他们担心，调高发行价和大量内部售股可能导致Facebook上市后股价更加波动。该公司本周将发行价区间从最初的28美元至35美元，调高至34美元至38美元。
研究公司PrivCo首席执行官、前银行家山姆•哈马登(Sam Hamadeh)表示：“我们看到内部售股达到了一种全新的水平。它从我们可以解释的水平……到了我们更难解释的水平。”
公司管理层和早期投资者在IPO中出售的股份通常有限，因为新投资者会希望董事会重要成员的利益和他们自己的利益保持一致。
咨询公司IPO Boutique对投资者进行的调查显示，Facebook股份出现“大量超额认购”，散户投资者的兴趣尤其浓厚。如果像预期那样行使超额配股权，此次IPO的最高融资额可能达到180亿美元，成为美国有史以来第二大IPO。
对冲基金老虎环球基金是增加售股数最多的股东。该基金计划售股数从早先的逾300万股提高至2300万股。高盛因向美国投资者出售Facebook上市前股份吸引了注意力。该公司将计划售股数提高了一倍多，相关收益可能达10亿美元。
尽管Facebook直接出售的股份数量依然为1.8亿股(按最高发行价计算，价值68亿美元)，但董事会成员彼得•塞尔(Peter Thiel)和詹姆斯•布雷耶(James Breyer)两人都增加了出售的股份数量。Facebook创始人马克•扎克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)没有增加售股数量。此次发行将让公众持有该公司大约20%的股份。