Facebook, Zynga Charging Up To $6,000 In Fees For Stock Sales

Facebook and social game studio Zynga are requiring fees of up to $6,000 for each private sale of company shares, a move possibly meant to dissuade employees from selling stocks to too many outside owners before an IPO. FarmVille developer Zynga began charging $4,500 for each private share sale in August, then raised that fee to $6,000 last month, according to company emails acquired by Bloomberg News. In the same report, Facebook is said to have imposed a $2,500 fee requirement for share transactions. Legal experts told the financial paper that the companies are likely trying to suppress online trades for employee stock, which "carry high administrative costs and can make it difficult for management to control ownership". The fees also help the firms prevent their number of shareholders from reaching 500, as once Facebook and Zynga hit that amount of outside owners, they will be required to disclose financial details that they probably want to keep private before launching an IPO. Zynga's CEO Mark Pincus commented in April that his studio was considering new limits for stock shares, as he was concerned that sellers could be revealing inside information to buyers in order to get the best deal for their trades. Around the same time, Facebook reportedly barred employees from selling their stock until it declared an open-trading period. A Zynga representative explained the charges to Bloomberg, "Zynga charges a fee for the transfer of stock to cover some of the costs associated with arranging and overseeing sales of company stock." The company made no mention of an IPO, and has repeatedly denied reports of it pursuing one in the past year.