Marc Andreessen’s venture capital firm has shed one-third of its shares in Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), according to a recent regulatory filing. According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Andreessen Horowitz sold 2.28 million shares on November 6 at a price of $49 to $50 per share.
Andreessen Horowitz still positive on Facebook
Margit Wennmachers, spokeswoman for Andreessen Horowitz told AllThingsD that the investment strategy of the firm was successful, adding that the investment firm still believes in Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB). Facebook shares closed at $47.53, down 3 cents on Friday.
“Venture investing involves a lot of experimentation,” Margit Wennmachers told. “Not all of them work. This one worked.”
Wennmachers spoke highly of Mark Zuckerberg and credited him for building an important and everlasting company. She added that the firm will be able to return cash to its investors after selling its stake in Facebook.
“We’re still feeling very good about Facebook,” Wennmachers said.
Andreessen a wise investor
Marc Andreessen, who is also a director at Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), backed browser company Netscape, which was acquired by AOL Inc in 1999. Horowitz has made an investment in some of the biggest companies when they were start-ups, including the social networker and online bulletin board Pinterest.
Andreessen Horowitz was a relatively late investor in Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB). Marc Andreessen was on Facebook’s board prior to setting up his own venture company, and still holds the position of Facebook’s director.
Thiel, Andreessen and Facebook
Angel investor Peter Thiel also dumped 20 million of his Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) shares soon after the lock up period following Facebook’s initial public offering in May 2012. Shares fetched between $19.27 and $20.69, lower than when the company listed at U.S. $38 per share.
Thiel and Andreessen have more in common rather than just selling off their stake in Facebook. Both investors entered into a discussion with each other, where Thiel claimed that Twitter will live longer than The New York Times.
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) stock price dropped after the initial public offering (IPO). Contrary to this, Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) shares saw a surge in their prices after the recent IPO launch.
