Facebook raises $500M as valuation grows to $50B

Facebook has raised $500 million from global investment banking and securities firm Goldman Sachs Group and Russian investment group Digital Sky Technologies, vaulting the social networking giant's valuation to $50 billion--topping companies like eBay, Yahoo and Time Warner. Citing sources involved in the transaction, The New York Times reports Goldman Sachs invested $450 million, with Digital Sky chipping in $50 million on top of the half a billion the firm has already funneled into Facebook's coffers. Goldman has the right to sell as much as $75 million of its stake to Digital Sky, sources add--moreover, the firm will create a "special purpose vehicle" to its highest net-worth clients to invest in Facebook, a plan that could face opposition from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Facebook, Goldman Sachs and Digital Sky Technologies all declined comment.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly denied the company plans an initial public offering or sale, stating "Don't hold your breath" during a November 2010 industry conference. Insiders indicate the Facebook board of directors is mulling an IPO sometime in 2012.

Late last year, Zuckerberg said more than 200 million consumers are now actively using Facebook's mobile products across all platforms--that number stood at just 65 million in 2009. According to The Nielsen Company, Facebook is the most popular app on the iPhone (used by 58 percent of consumers) and BlackBerry device (39 percent), and the second most popular across the Android platform (51 percent).

For more:
- read this New York Times article

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