Russian firm invests $200M in Facebook

[BlueJessamine]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Facebook said Tuesday it had received a $200 million investment from a Russian firm, an amount that implied a value of $10 billion for the social networking giant.

The investment gives Digital Sky Technologies a nearly 2 percent stake in Facebook, a company that continues to soar in popularity, but whose business is still a work in progress.

The agreement formalizes what many in the Internet industry had speculated for some time: that Facebook's valuation had dropped significantly amid the economic downturn.

In 2007, at the market's peak, Microsoft paid $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook, giving the company a valuation of $15 billion. Digital Sky's investment shows that Facebook's value has dropped by $5 billion, reflecting an increased skepticism about its ability to profit from its 200 million users.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/27/BU7517R8HN.DTL&tsp=1

[FSogol]

1. I wonder if it went a little like this...DEAR CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS PARTENER

HAVING CONSULTED WITH MY COLLEAGUES AND BASED ON THE INFORMATION GATHERED FROM THE RUSSIAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE TO REQUEST FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE TO TRANSFER THE SUM OF $200,000,000.00 (TWO HUNDRED MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS) INTO YOUR ACCOUNTS. THE ABOVE SUM RESULTED FROM AN OVER-INVOICED CONTRACT, EXECUTED COMMISSIONED AND PAID FOR ABOUT FIVE YEARS (5) AGO BY A FOREIGN CONTRACTOR. THIS ACTION WAS HOWEVER INTENTIONAL AND SINCE THEN THE FUND HAS BEEN IN A SUSPENSE ACCOUNT AT THE CENTRAL BANK OF RUSSIA APEX BANK.

WE ARE NOW READY TO TRANSFER THE FUND OVERSEAS AND THAT IS WHERE YOU COME IN. IT IS IMPORTANT TO INFORM YOU THAT AS CIVIL SERVANTS, WE ARE FORBIDDEN TO OPERATE A FOREIGN ACCOUNT; THAT IS WHY WE REQUIRE YOUR ASSISTANCE. THE TOTAL SUM WILL BE SHARED AS FOLLOWS: 70% FOR US, 25% FOR YOU AND 5% FOR LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL EXPENSES INCIDENT TO THE TRANSFER.

THE TRANSFER IS RISK FREE ON BOTH SIDES. I AM AN ACCOUNTANT WITH THE RUSSIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION (NNPC). IF YOU FIND THIS PROPOSAL ACCEPTABLE, WE SHALL REQUIRE THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS:

(A) YOUR BANKER'S NAME, TELEPHONE, ACCOUNT AND FAX NUMBERS.

(B) YOUR PRIVATE TELEPHONE AND FAX NUMBERS -- FOR CONFIDENTIALITY AND EASY COMMUNICATION.

(C) YOUR LETTER-HEADED PAPER STAMPED AND SIGNED.

ALTERNATIVELY WE WILL FURNISH YOU WITH THE TEXT OF WHAT TO TYPE INTO YOUR LETTER-HEADED PAPER, ALONG WITH A BREAKDOWN EXPLAINING, COMPREHENSIVELY WHAT WE REQUIRE OF YOU. THE BUSINESS WILL TAKE US THIRTY (30) WORKING DAYS TO ACCOMPLISH.

PLEASE REPLY URGENTLY.

BEST REGARDS

[Dogmudgeon]

2. I DEVOUTLY CRAVE THE HONOUR OF YOUR ESTIMABLE ATTENTIONS ...

That was the Most Improbable Phrase from a letter I once got from Lagos.

Russia, I'm still waiting for.

--d!