Interpublic Sells Half Of Facebook Stake For $133 Million In Cash

Interpublic Group Of Cos. (IPG) agreed to sell about half of its Facebook Inc. stake for $133 million in cash, and increased its stock repurchase plans by $150 million.

Interpublic's stake in Facebook was valued between $200 million and $300 million in April, according to a Financial Times report citing people close to the advertising company. According to the report, the stake cost Interpublic less than $5 million when purchased in 2006.

The social-networking giant has signaled that it intends to launch an initial public offering sometime next year.

"When an attractive opportunity to divest a portion of our position recently presented itself, we decided that it made sense to do so," said Chairman and Chief Executive Michael I. Roth.

Interpublic expects to book a pretax gain of $132 from the privately negotiated transaction.

The company also increased its existing stock repurchase program to $450 million from $300 million. Interpublic has repurchased $187.6 million of its stock through Aug. 12.

Interpublic reported last month its second-quarter earnings rose 27% as international business helped drive revenue growth, but higher staff-related costs hurt margins.

Shares closed Friday at $8.64 and were inactive premarket. The stock has fallen 19% so far this year.

 
   -By Melodie Warner, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2283; [e-mail]