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Among the unanswered questions surrounding yesterday’s Microsoft-Facebook deal was whether there were any other investors besides Microsoft in this round of financing. Now rumors are circulating that two hedge funds also chipped in for an additional $500 million.
The early (and possibly incorrect) presumption is that the hedge funds are each getting an equity share equivalent to Microsoft’s %1.6, but of course they aren’t getting any of the ad business. That in turn raises another unanswered question: what kind of advertising revenue share did Microsoft give Facebook? Both parties are taking pains to maintain the fiction of two separate Microsoft-Facebook deals in order to preserve the pristine nature of the $15 billion valuation, but one can’t help but wonder how much Microsoft really paid in total to play with Facebook.
Update 11/1: Facebook board member and investor Jim Breyer says this rumor is incorrect.
