• Financial Times, Monday, April 4, 2011 11:57 AM

If only on paper, Interpublic appears to be profiting from social networking more than any other ad group. In 2006, when Facebook was valued somewhere between $1 billion to $2 billion, Interpublic took a small stake in the company for less than $5 million. Sources tell the Financial Times that Interpublic took just under a half percent, which, at a valuation of $50 billion, would put the investment at about $200 million.

"In recent weeks, however, Facebook has been valued at up to $85bn on the secondary market," FT.com points out -- which would value Interpublic's stake at closer to $300 million. "The position in Facebook is not that substantial compared with Interpublic's overall revenues, which totaled $6.53 billion last year," adds FT.com. "But the value of the stake is welcome for the group, which is recovering from a tough few years during the recession." Interpublic was originally able to secure its share by committing to spend $10 million for its clients on Facebook.

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