SOCIAL NETWORKING website Facebook has received a $200 million (€144 million) investment from Russia’s Digital Sky Technologies (DST) which values the Californian company at $10 billion.
That is a significant discount for the five-year-old company which was valued at $15 billion just 18 months ago when Microsoft invested $240 million.
DST, which has offices in London and Moscow, will have a 1.96 per cent stake in Facebook.
Facebook said DST had committed to purchasing another $100 million of stock from current and former employees.
Staff at the Silicon Valley start- up had reportedly become frustrated that there was no market for there shares.
Facebook has enjoyed phenomenal growth in the last three years since it opened up beyond its original audience of college students. It has more than 200 million users worldwide and more than 400,000 in Ireland.
Last October, Facebook confirmed that it was locating its international headquarters in Dublin.
Unlike Microsoft, with which Facebook has cross-promotional deals, DST is said to be a “passive investor”.
DST’s current portfolio is primarily based in Russia and Eastern Europe and it claims to account for 70 per cent of page views in the Russian-speaking internet.
It owns stakes in a number of social networks and in webmail sites.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook chief executive and founder, said a number of firms had looked to invest but DST’s international experience appealed.
More than 70 per cent of Facebook’s audience is outside the US but its backers have primarily been Silicon Valley-based.
Digital Sky Technologies will not receive any board seats as part of its investment.
