Facebook Execs Won't Sell Shares

With an ailing stock price, board members decide to keep their shares off the market.

A secondary offering of stock as well as a decision to not sell executive shares is the Facebook board's attempt to reverse the downward trend of share prices.

By not making the secondary offering, Facebook will pay taxes on the remaining shares with cash, according to John Costine at TechCrunch. The SEC filing is here.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other board members told the SEC they do not plan to sell any shares for a year, except a small amount to cover some taxes. Instead, cash from the summer's IPO will cover the cost of keeping the secondary shares off the market.

The board is sticking to its guns, reinforcing that sticking to its core plan of user experience will eventually lead the share price higher.

The move does affect the coming stock lockups, allowing employees to sell shares two weeks before the scheduled end of the lockup on Nov. 14.

The SEC filing about not selling executive restricted stock was filed after the market closed on Tuesday -- just after the shares hit a new low.

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