Facebook's Zuckerberg Sold 30 Million Shares Before IPO

MarketWatch
Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has sold 30.2 million shares and director Peter Thiel has sold 16.8 million shares of the social-networking company, according to securities filings published late Tuesday.

The sales confirm plans detailed in a prospectus before Friday's $16 billion IPO. Zuckerberg sold 30.2 million shares at a price of $37.58 for gross proceeds of $1.13 billion; Thiel sold 16.8 million shares for gross proceeds of $633 million. Facebook insiders had told prospective shareholders of their plans in an S-1 filing last week.

Market Watch reported previously that James Breyer of Accel Partners boosted his planned sale by 28% to about 10.84 million shares, with some of those shares held by the VC firm he manages. Thiel more than doubled his planned share sale; he now plans to move about 16.8 million shares in the offering.

Another big seller in the deal was Tiger Global Management, a hedge fund run by Chase Coleman. The fund sold 23.4 million shares.

Entities holding shares whose voting rights are controlled by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold an additional 54.9 million shares in the debut. 

Other Facebook investors that increased the shares they planned to sell in the offering include DSt Global Limited, Goldman Sachs, Greylock Partners and Mail.ru Group.