Facebook Gets on the Books at $2b

Marketing Vox reports an investment in Facebook By Interpublic (via Inside Facebook).

Interpublic Group is in final negotiations with social networking site Facebook for a 0.5 percent stake in the site in return for spending up to $10 million for the agency's clients on Facebook, reports MediaWeek.

Obviously, the implication is a $2b valuation, validating the earlier rumors that Facebook had pushed for such a number when they turned down a $750m Viacom offer.

However, looking at the size of the deal, I think the equity part of the deal is a bit of a farce.  IPG is not a holding company of marketing services providers.  I don't think they look at this as an equity investment, but rather an experimental media buy, or a biz dev deal.  However, by attaching an equity stake in the deal, at their own terms, Facebook puts itself in the books at a $2b valuation.

To me it looks like a prophecy they hope that will be self-fulfilling.