Consider this a rumor at this point. Forbes’ Elizabeth Corcoran is reporting that two NYC hedge funds have each matched Microsoft’s investment in Facebook for about $250 million each, at the same $15 billion valuation. If true, that would give Facebook a $750 million war chest, which is more than most companies make in an IPO. That should be more than enough to pay for those 700 employees next year.
On the conference call yesterday, Microsoft exec Kevin Johnson implied there might be other investors involved when he said, “If you look at this round of financing they are doing that we are in for $240 million . . .” We asked if there were indeed more investors involved, but Facebook’s chief revenue officer Owen van Natta would only say, “Microsoft is the investor we are announcing today.” But that left open the door for another announcement. Anyone who knows the names of the hedge funds involved, please tell us in comments (or send me an e-mail if you really know).