Filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on November 6 revealed that the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz of Facebook director Marc Andreessen disposed 2.3 million shares at prices between $49.22 and $50.07 per share after the company's stocks hit a record high last month. While the firm divested a third of its stake in Facebook valued over $111 million, it still holds 4.6 million shares of the social media company.
The record valuation of the social networking service came amid the optimism that Facebook can make most of its over a billion users to generate more money especially on the mobile platform. The surge in revenue was pegged at 60 percent for the third quarter, going beyond what industry analysts have expected.
Andreessen Horowitz clarified Sunday that the firm remains a big believer of Facebook and that is the reason why it is still keeping a big chunk of its shares.
"The investment and the return fully satisfies our venture thesis. We're obviously pleased with that," said Andreessen Horowitz spokeswoman Margit Wennmachers in an interview.
Marc Andreessen was one of the investors of Netscape in its early days. The browser company was acquired in 1999 by AOL. Andreessen's firm also invested in hot technology startups such as Facebook and Pinterest.
Another early Facebook investor and board member Peter Thiel sold his shares valued at more than a billion dollars when the company went public and after the mandatory lock-up after the IPO in May 2012. During that time, the shares of Facebook went for $19.27 to $20.69 per share, a lot lower than the initial listed price per share of $38.
The two investors, Andreessen and Thiel, has more than Facebook as a common interest. They also are interested in Twitter, with Thiel arguing that the microblogging site has a bright future. Twitter's stock has climbed since its debut at $26 per share and currently is trading above $42 at the New York Stock Exchange.
