Interpublic Group Admits Major Facebook Investment
The Interpublic Group have revealed that in 2006 they invested $5 million (£3.09m) for a stake of less than 1% in Facebook.
The shares in the social networking giant were secured when it was still an emerging platform and popular mainly with university students. Facebook's unprecedented growth in recent years has lead to the realisation that Interpublic Group were in possession of a substantial stake, leading to them being obliged to disclosing the investment to the SEC.
At the time of the 2006 share purchase, Facebook was estimated to be worth $1bn, but following an investment of $1bn by Goldman Sachs in January of this year, Facebook has now been valued at over $50bn.
Investments from the ad sector in Facebook have been rare, but reports suggest that Interpublic Group, owner of several agencies including McCann Erickson, Draftfcb and Lowe had also promised a $10m client spend to help launch interest in the social network's advertising platform.
The current exact value of Interpublic Group's stake isn't known but is now estimated to be worth between $200m and $300m.