• BusinessWeek, Wednesday, August 6, 2008 12 PM

Facebook investors are lining up to dump their shares, BusinessWeek reports, adding that the going rate is far below the $15 billion valuation Microsoft placed on the company when it purchased a small equity stake last fall.

Broker Laurence Albukerk, who deals in the sale of stock in privately held companies in Silicon Valley, says he knows at least nine people who have sold or are currently trying to sell Facebook shares; he adds that "dozens" more are trying to move their stock. Among the sellers: CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Matt Cohler, the former VP of Product Management. Albukerk says that recently, two current directors and one former executive contacted him about selling some of their stock at a $5 billion valuation. He also says that a pair of unnamed investment firms recently bought large chunks of company stock at a valuation of around $3.75 billion. Says one insider: "There's a lot of interest among people to sell shares."

Facebook, meanwhile, is putting restrictions on stock sales by some employees who leave the company, making them sign an agreement not to sell company shares at more than a $3.75 billion valuation. Recent legal documents also peg the company's common shares at $3.75 billion.

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