$1.5 billion investment will be open to non-U.S. investors

No Americans allowed in Facebook cash grab

Investment bank Goldman Sachs has said that the oversubscribed $1.5 billion private share offering for social network giant Facebook will be only open to non-U.S. investors.

The firm said that ‘intense media spotlight’ meant that the deal was in danger of running afoul of American securities regulations. 

The Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook executives were apparently frustrated by last minute restructuring of the deal in order to comply with US regulations. With $7 billion of foreign orders coming from outside of the US, the company will hardly have difficulty in finding takers for the rare chance to invest in firm.

The US financial regulator the SEC has a rule in place which limits private placements of investment to those which are not subject to advertising or promotion, something that the intense media scrutiny may be construed as providing indirectly.

The Journal quoted a source that claimed international clients are being told how many Facebook shares they can buy with an order to provide the money by the end of the week.

Small investors, however, need not apply. The minimum investment in the social networking site is $2 million ensuring that only Goldman’s extensive collection of wealthy clients will have the chance to own a little of Zuckerberg’s golden egg.

Check Also

Westcoast acquires Spire Technology

Westcoast has acquired UK IT components distributor Spire Technology.  The deal for 100% of the …