Goldman Halts Facebook Sale to U.S. Investors Citing Regulations

[The Straight Story]

Goldman Halts Facebook Sale to U.S. Investors Citing Regulations

Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said it will only offer shares of Facebook Inc. to investors outside the U.S. because completing the private securities offering amid “intense media attention” may violate market regulations.

“Goldman Sachs concluded that the level of media attention might not be consistent with the proper completion of a U.S. private placement under U.S. law,” the New York-based firm said in an e-mailed statement today.

“We regret the consequences of this decision, but Goldman Sachs believes this is the most prudent path to take,” it said. The move “was based on the sole judgment of Goldman Sachs and was not required or requested by any other party.”

A Facebook spokesman, Jonathan Thaw, said Goldman Sachs is “in the best position to answer any questions.”

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-01-17/goldman-halts-facebook-sale-to-u-s-investors-citing-regulations.html

[dipsydoodle]

1. I'm wondering if they're boxing clever.

Its to do with the fact that, if anything does goes pear shaped ,US investors cannot claim for associated investment losses where the trading occurred on exchanges outside of the USA.

This has already been established with regard to BP and another company who name escapes me at present.
Here is one link to the BP issue :

Please respect FT.com's ts&cs and copyright policy which allow you to: share links; copy content for personal use; & redistribute limited extracts. Email [e-mail] to buy additional rights or use this link to reference the article - http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5e25bf2e-8de3-11df-9153-00144feab49a.html#ixzz1BK7ctuzb

Lawyers aiming to sue BP on its shareholders’ behalf are scrambling to deal with the fallout from a court ruling that could bar the bulk of investors from seeking damages in the US.

Attorneys specialising in so-called class action lawsuits said they were looking at ways round a US Supreme Court judgment that appears to prevent claims by the almost three-quarters of BP investors who bought their shares on foreign stock exchanges.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5e25bf2e-8de3-11df-9153-00144feab49a.html#axzz1BK77WqCW

There is an even more significant finding from a foreign courst but that's the one which eludes me at present