Suit Alleges Interpublic Exited Facebook $381.1 Million Richer, Claims Most Of It
Update: Interpublic denied an allegation in a suit filed by a former executive that it sold the remainder of its shares in Facebook following the social network’s initial public offering in May. “I can confirm that we have not sold any portion of the remainder of our take in Facebook,” an Interpublic spokesman said in response to an Online Media Daily report citing the allegation in a suit filed by former Interpublic executive Ray Volpe that Interpublic sold the remainder of its Facebook shares for $249.6 million on May 18th, the day Facebook went public. Under the terms of its original 0.4% investment in Facebook, Interpublic is required to file a public disclosure if and when it sells any “material” amount of its position in Facebook, though it could sell off small amounts over time without publicly disclosing it. In a private transaction in August 2011, Interpublic sold half its original stake in Facebook for $133.5 million.
Early Facebook investor Interpublic sold the remainder of its shares in the social network for nearly $250 million when it went public May 18th, according to a lawsuit filed by a disgruntled former Interpublic executive claiming he is entitled to be paid for his role in convincing the agency holding company to invest in the company.
While Interpublic hasn’t officially disclosed the sale of its public Facebook shares, when combined with the $135 million it previously made selling half its original Facebook stake in a private deal last year, brings total proceeds from the investment to $383.6 million, or a 15,244% return on its original investment of $2.5 million of a 0.48% stake in Facebook in 2006.
In a suit filed in New York State Supreme Court, former Interpublic executive Ray Volpe claims he is entitled to $381 million from Interpublic for his role in convincing the holding company to take an early stake in Facebook.
Interpublic claims the suit is without merit, because its Facebook stake was entered into at the corporate level.
Recent Online Media Daily Articles
-
Network Advertising Initiative Proposes New Mobile Privacy Rules May 22, 9:03 p.m.
Moving forward with its plan to issue mobile privacy rules, the self-regulatory group Network Advertising Initiative ... -
Entertainment, Travel Bet On Mobile Banners May 22, 4:16 p.m.
Banner ads have long been the whipping boy of online advertising, and the same is now ... -
Marketers Should Tailor Specific Pitches To Tablet, Smartphone May 22, 2:51 p.m.
Don’t lump tablets in with mobile. That’s the takeaway of a new Forrester study looking at ... -
Good TV Content Trumps On, Whether Trad TV Or Streaming May 22, 2:42 p.m.
While consumers continue to perceive TV programming as superior in quality to that of online fare, ... -
Google Releases Self-Serve Display Benchmark Tool May 22, 2:02 p.m.
Understanding how a brand's online campaign competes with competitors requires trending benchmark data like engagement rates ... -
Twitter Brings Lead Generation To Tweets May 22, 1:14 p.m.
Twitter began testing a lead generation tool Wednesday in its tweet stream that resembles a cross ... -
DigitasLBi, Razorfish Tap Execs For Global Ops May 22, 11:26 a.m.
Publicis Groupe digital agencies DigitasLBi and Razorfish have installed new executives to run their respective international ... -
More Consumers Turn To Mobile To Research, Book Travel May 22, 8:53 a.m.
More than half of consumers used a mobile device to book travel in the last 90 ... -
Showrooming Overhyped, Mobile Key To Shopping Purchases May 22, 8:53 a.m.
Given consumers' mobile in-store shopping trends, some consider the showrooming hoopla overblown. The research process still ... -
Shopping App Swirl Adds In-Store Capability May 22, 8:53 a.m.
Swirl entered the mobile shopping fray last year with an iPhone app allowing users to learn ...
Be the first to comment on "Suit Alleges Interpublic Exited Facebook $381.1 Million Richer, Claims Most Of It"
Leave a Comment