Some Facebook stock is worth more than other Facebook stock. Some Facebook stock, we've heard, comes with information rights.
Meaning: if you own it, you get to know about Facebook's financials, even though it is a private company.
This type of stock is the kind of stock that the biggest Facebook investor you've never heard of likes to acquire for his hedge fund.
His name is Chase Coleman, and he runs a hedge fund called Tiger Global – best known for its huge returns and long positions in companies like Apple, Google, and LinkedIn.
Chase is 33 or 34, married to a pretty blonde named Stephanie, and very, very rich. The most recent estimate we've seen of his income was $350 million to $400 million per year. He's been running Tiger Global since 2001, so he's likely a paper billionaire. He's got an ornate apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side.
Tiger Global Management LLC files an 13F filing with the SEC each quarter. Here's the holdings information for the quarter ending September 30, 2010:
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Industry Breakdown of All TIGER GLOBAL MANAGEMENT LLC 13F Holdings in Q3 2010
(by % of total market value of investments)
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Note: Chart shows exposure to top 5 industries. All other industry exposure is represented by "Other Industries". Market value of investments calculated using close of business price as of 2010-09-30 00:00:00.
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Q3 2010 TIGER GLOBAL MANAGEMENT LLC 13F Holdings
| Name | Ticker | Industry | % TSO | No Shs (Mils) | Chg Shs (Mils) | Market Value (Mils) | Value change (Mils) | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo Group, Inc. | APOL |
|
2.00%
|
3.217
|
-3.315
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$223.9
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+$230.7
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103.00%
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| The DIRECTV Group, Inc. | DTV | Media |
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7.508
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+0.02k
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$184.8
|
+$0.603
|
|
| Apple Inc. | AAPL | Technology |
|
1.256
|
+0.215
|
$179.4
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+$30.6
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17.00%
|
| Electronic Arts Inc. | ERTS | Technology |
2.00%
|
6.900
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-1.100
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$151.4
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-$24.1
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-15.00%
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| Cablevision Systems Corporation | CVC |
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2.00%
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7.241
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+1.08l
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$141.8
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+$21.3
|
14.00%
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| Lockheed Martin | LMT | Aerospace and Defense |
|
1.487
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-0.649
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$119.9
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-$52.3
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-43.00%
|
| MercadoLibre, Inc. | MELI | Retail |
8.00%
|
3.794
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-0.399
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$101.1
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-$10.6
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-10.00%
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| MasterCard Incorporated | MA |
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0.543
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-0.047
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$90.0
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-$7.8
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-8.00%
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| Liberty Global, Inc. | LBTYA |
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4.00%
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5.425
|
+0.041
|
$86.7
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+$0.662
|
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| TRANSDIGM GROUP INC | TDG |
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3.00%
|
1.917
|
-0.164
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$71.9
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-$6.2
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-8.00%
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| Priceline.com Incorporated | PCLN | Internet |
1.00%
|
0.555
|
-0.338
|
$62.4
|
-$38.1
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-61.00%
|
| Xerox Corporation | XRX | Technology |
|
8.550
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+1.600
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$56.5
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+$10.6
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18.00%
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| Genpact Limited | G | Business Svs and Supplies |
2.00%
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4.467
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+1.902
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$53.0
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+$22.6
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42.00%
|
| LIBERTY MEDIA CORP | LCAPA |
|
3.00%
|
2.666
|
-1.141
|
$35.7
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-$15.3
|
-42.00%
|
| CommScope, Inc. | CTV | Telecom |
1.00%
|
1.279
|
-0.173
|
$33.5
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-$4.5
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-13.00%
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| NIKE, Inc. | NKE | Retail |
|
0.513
|
|
$26.9
|
|
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| IAC/InterActiveCorp | IACI | Internet |
1.00%
|
1.047
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-2.118
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$17.0
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-$34.4
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-202.00%
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| Live Nation | LYV |
Unclassified
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1.00%
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1.950
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-8.630
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$9.8
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-$43.6
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-442.00%
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Hedge funds don't have to disclose their positions in private companies – and Tiger Global is particularly press shy – so we had a hard time nailing down exactly how Coleman came up with his stake in Facebook, how he landed information rights, and how large his stake is.
Anyway, the idea that some Facebook shareholders have more information on their hands then other shareholders has some tricky implications.
For one, it suggests that if Chase Coleman is trying to sell you his stake, he might know something bad about the company that you don't. (Then again, Thiel knew Facebook's financials and he sold his stake.)
For another, investors looking for exposure to Facebook could do worse than putting their money with Tiger – where the guy running things at least knows how well Facebook's business is actually doing.
Finally, we think the SEC will eventually do something about the fact that a "public" market for Facebook shares is obviously developing and that some investors know more about the company than others. We think the SEC will require Facebook to register as a public company and disclose its financials to everyone.
Whether that means Facebook will IPO depends on whether the company thinks it can use the cash. Since the company would only have to sell second-class, non-voting shares, we think it will go for it. Why not?
Coleman declined to comment on this story.
Update: An earlier version of this story speculated the Coleman may have purchased some of his Facebook stock from the company's first outside investor, Peter Thiel, in 2009. We've since been reached by a source familiar with the situation who put our speculation to rest, so to speak. We haven't been told that Coleman NEVER bought stock from Thiel.
COMMENTARY: I can almost guarantee you that Goldman Sachs, Peter Thiel and Blue Sky Technology the three largest Facebook private shareholder's after Zuck are doing business with Coleman. This is especially true for Blue Sky Technology, the Russian venture capital firm that has invested $250 million Facebook. Guess what? Global Tiger has invested in several Russian technology startups. Is that a coincidence, or what?
Tiger Global ending the 3rd quarter 2010 with total investment holds with a market value of $1.73 billion, and has been selling a significant portions of its holdings since the end of the 1st quarter 2010. Tiger Global sold nearly half its holdings ($230.7 million) in Apollo Group which specializes in institutes of higher learning and includes the University of Phoenix. It also sold significant holdings in Lockheed Martin, Priceline.com, Liberty Media Corp, IAC Interactive Corp and Live Nation.
In an SEC filing for the month ending November 2010, Tiger Global held investment holds worth $4.6 billion, an increase of nearly $2.9 billion since September 30, 2010. Tiger Global has added holdings from a number of companies including Amazon.com, Apple, Discovery Channel, Liberty Media, MakeMyTrip Limited Mauritius, Powershares QQQ Trust, SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, Viacom and Transdigm Group, Inc.
Courtesy of an article dated January 5, 2010 appearing in Silicon Alley Insider Business Insider
According to a post on DealBook today, Tiger Global Management has provided significant funding for Palantir, a technology firm co-founded by Peter Thiel.
This is the story: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/05/06/palantir-valued-at-2-5-billion-or-more/
Posted by: Matt | 05/06/2011 at 10:00 AM