In a humiliating turn of events, Goldman has decided to bar its U.S. clients from purchasing Facebook (META) shares.
The move is seen as an effort to dodge interference from the SEC,which had “opened an inquiry into the structure of the offering and whether it violated the law because the deal had been widely reported on in the media,” according to Dealbook.
Goldman says it has no plans to reduce the size of the $1.5 billion offering, which values Facebook at $50 billion. Money from investors who are still eligible is due by the end of the week.
The shares had been on offer to Goldman’s top U.S. clients, including hedge funds and corporate titans. Perhaps those left out in the cold can comfort themselves with a few of the Facebook derivatives Goldman is said to be working on. That, or buy them on SecondMarket, like folks did before Goldman got involved in the first place.
bpopper at observer dot com – @benpopper
