Regardless of whether it made the correct decisions or not, the fact remains that Facebook’s stock isn’t fairing well. Perhaps that’s why Zuckerberg and co have decided to batten the hatches, ditching a secondary offering and playing it safe.
The Wall Street Journal explains:
In a regulatory filing Tuesday, Facebook said Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg won’t sell any stock in the company for a year, and that two of its directors-Marc Andreessen and Donald Graham-have no plans to sell their personal holdings beyond the amount needed to cover their tax liabilities.
Facebook also detailed how it will essentially buy back 101 million shares when it issues previously restricted stock units to its staff in October. At recent prices, it would spend roughly $US1.9 billion to keep those shares off the market.
As the Journal points out, the decision seems to be a move to protect Facebook’s share price by reducing the amount of Big Blue stock available in the public market. Whether that’s enough remains to be seen. [Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch]