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While deep-pocketed investors from New York to Beijing are clamoring to buy a piece of Facebook, news that a co-founder of the social networking giant is shopping around a portion of his stake is raising eyebrows on Wall Street, The Post has learned.
At least one dealmaker has been approached by reps of the co-founder to unload up to 10 million shares of common stock in Facebook, a source close to the situation said.
The sale, based on recent secondary-market activity in the $30 per-share range, could raise about $300 million.
It has not been revealed which co-founder is interested in parting with the significant chunk of the red-hot tech company, but there are only four possibilities: CEO Mark Zuckerberg or co-founders Chris Hughes, Dustin Moskovitz or Eduardo Saverin.
It could not be learned why the shares are on the block.
A sale of 10 million shares would represent about a half of 1 percent in the company, which has said it is likely heading for an IPO by mid-2012.
News quickly ricocheted around Wall Street, and potential buyers are already showing interest, the source said.
Facebook did not immediately return calls for comment.
The market for private shares in Facebook is smoking hot, with Wall Street banks, venture capitalists and everyday investors looking to buy.
Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, among other big name firms, have raised billions of dollars to buy shares in such companies as Facebook, Twitter and Zynga. Facebook is now estimated to be worth more than $50 billion.
The co-founder’s shares have no restrictions on transfer, but Facebook last year implemented new rules that affect any future shares, limiting their transferability. A number of private tech firms established similar rules after the market for private shares took off.
The market has matured, thanks to online exchanges such as SecondMarket that connect sellers with accredited buyers. gsloane@nypost.com