Russian Tech Giant Cashes In on Facebook’s Recovery

New York Times Deal Book
LONDON – More than a year after Facebook’s botched initial public offering, investors are now reaping rewards.
On Thursday, the Russian Internet company Mail.ru, which is partly owned by the billionaire Alisher Usmanov, announced that it had sold its remaining stake in Facebook for around $525 million.
The Russian company initially bought its stake in Facebook in 2009 for around $200 million. Mr. Usmanov has also bought holdings in a number of other Internet start-ups in the United States, including the online game company Zynga and the daily deals Web site Groupon.
By selling its remaining 14.2 million shares, or roughly 0.7 percent of Facebook’s outstanding shares, Mail.ru is benefiting from a rebound in the share price, which fell when the company went public last year.
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