Serial German entrepreneurs Alexander, Marc and Oliver Samwer have invested in Facebook, we’ve heard from a very reliable source – presumably as part of Facebook’s recent $15 billion valuation round with Microsoft. We are still trying to nail down the size of the investment.
The Samwer brothers, all in their thirties, founded Alando (sold to eBay in 1999 for $54 million) and Jamba (sold to Verisign in 2004 for $273 million, now part of News Corp.). In 2006 they founded the European Founders Fund to support Internet businesses in the U.S. and Europe. They have investments in LinkedIn, MFG.com, HomeAway and ReachLocal.
In November Facebook added to the $240 million investment from Microsoft with another $60 million from Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing. The financing round remains open, Facebook told me this morning, but they are not yet confirming the investment.
The Samwer brothers were investors in German Facebook clone Studivz, which sold a year ago for €100 million.
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