Russian firm invests in Facebook

PALO ALTO, Calif., May 26 (UPI) -- U.S. Internet giant Facebook said a Russian firm, Digital Sky Technologies, has purchased 1.96 percent of the company for $200 million.

The deal values Facebook's preferred stock at $10 billion, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

In October 2007, a similar deal with Microsoft valued Facebook's preferred stock at $15 billion, but Facebook founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg called the Microsoft deal something of an anomaly.

That deal was made at the "absolute peak of the market," he said.

"Relative to the economic conditions for when the Microsoft deal happened and that being more of a strategic partnership than a straight financial investment, we feel really good about the progress we've made," Zuckerberg said in a conference call.

He said the new financing "will serve as a cash buffer to support our continued growth." Facebook, however, was not thinking of going public soon. "We'll do it when it's right for the company," Zuckerberg said.

Digital Sky Technologies has investments in Web companies that command about 70 percent of the Russian-language Internet. It also has plans to buy $100 million in additional Facebook stock from other sources, the newspaper said.