Facebook valuation seen at $70 billion
Investment group GSV Capital has picked up a significant number of shares in Facebook, but its valuation of the social-networking site has garnered more buzz.
GSV acquired 225,000 shares in Facebook at an average price of $29.28 per share. That amount equals nearly $6.6 million, which is approximately 15 percent of GSV's total portfolio. GSV is also working on a number of other private investments that are expected to close within a month.
More notably, GSV is reportedly valuing Facebook at $70 billion, which brings the social network somewhere just south of Amazon and Hewlett-Packard.
However, 24/7 Wall St. points out that the GSV/Facebook deal is still up in the air because there is a "30-day Right of First Refusal expiration" clause. Nor has Facebook filed for an IPO yet, making the situation even trickier.
Facebook's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, said last month that he isn't planning to take his company public just yet, but many tech followers expect such a move by the end of the year. Given that Facebook could possibly have almost 750 million members worldwide by now, it is probably time for Facebook to finally take the plunge.
This story originally appeared at ZDNet's Between the Lines blog as "GSV Capital Corp fund values Facebook at $70 billion."