Investor to pay Facebook employees $14.77/share
* Facebook employees can sell shares for $14.77/share
* Digital Sky to take 3.5 pct stake in Facebook
SAN FRANCISCO, July 13 (Reuters) - Digital Sky Technologies will pay $14.77 a share for Facebook common stock, in a deal that values the world's No. 1 Internet social network at roughly $6.5 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The deal will allow DST to purchase common shares from Facebook employees and ex-employees, and is separate from the Russian investment firm's $200 million investment in Facebook that was announced in May.
Together, the two transactions will give DST a 3.5 percent stake in Facebook, according to the source.
A Facebook representative confirmed that the common share purchase is underway. In a statement, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he was pleased that the price that DST is offering is "much greater" than the price Facebook originally considered last fall in a similar program to allow employees to cash out their shares. (Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
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