Netscape and Silicon Graphics founder Jim Clark was approached by Goldman Sachs to invest in Facebook, but turned the offer down because the investment firm demanded a 4.5% upfront fee and 5% of the profits, according to an upcoming article from Bloomberg Markets magazine that’s critical of Goldman.
The March cover story, titled “Lloyd Blankfein’s Headache,” which goes live this evening, reports that Clark got an e-mail from an executive at Goldman’s private wealth management division on January 2. The deal — through a fund overseen by Goldman Sachs Asset Management — was being offered to other Goldman investors at the time.
The report goes on to say that the deal called for a 4% placement fee on clients plus a 0.5% “expense reserve” fee and would also require investors to surrender 5% of any profits, known as “carried interest.”
While Clark turned that offer down, he had purchased a stake in Facebook through another firm at a lower price and without the carried interest fee. In June 2009, Clark pulled most of his roughly $400 million from Goldman for what he considered bad advice and poor performance.
The report comes after Goldman earlier this month excluded its U.S.-based clients from buying shares in Facebook, citing “intense media coverage” as the motivating factor in its decision.
Image courtesy of Dealbreaker
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