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And Groupon Makes Three. What’s Russian Firm DST’s Secret Sauce?
- vaksel 16y agofrom what a few people posted in other threads, DST is basically a way for some shady russian outfits to launder money. That's the reason they don't mind overpaying a lot for their investments Just read up on the guy who owns 32% of DST: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alisher_Usmanov#Legal_action_over_criminal_conviction_and_pardon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alisher_Usmanov#Legal_action_ov...
- madrix 16y agoI was about to say the exact same thing...
- falsestprophet 16y agoWhat evidence is there of this?
- vaksel 16y agono idea, like I said I'm just reposting what others said, but you can just look at their investments, it's obviously they don't care about money since they consistently overpay by a huge number for their investments. No real investment fund that gets it's money from legit investors would consistently overpay...i.e. they "valued" facebook at 10 billion...at a time when facebook had problems raising funds at even a lower valuation. Why would you overpay when you don't have to?
- huangm 16y ago'Overpaying' is just an opinion. Obviously we can only speculate, but many people scoffed at Google's share price at IPO - anyone who bought-in despite that now looks like a genius. Also, as outsiders, it's impossible to know enough about what the exact funding situation for Facebook looked like at the time to make conclusions about overpaying.
- vaksel 16y agoExcept Google had a good balance sheet/P&L...Facebook is barely profitable...and facebook has already reached it's peak.
- frisco 16y ago> and facebook has already reached it's peak. That's a ridiculous statement. Like Facebook or not, they've attracted a world-class team, are growing increasingly fast, and have consistently innovated in ways the rest of the Valley hasn't seen coming. The announcements at f8 just a few days ago are a great example of this. Facebook may or may not become Google -- or even Microsoft -- sized, but their risk is almost entirely execution now (and they've continually proven they know how to execute).
- zackattack 16y agoNone.
- mahmud 16y agoWhat? 60 years of anti-Soviet fear-mongering propaganda isn't good enough for you?
- meterplech 16y agoI think a better takeaway is that they are attacking a unique niche in Venture Capital. Allowing for people to cash out before IPO, as well as allowing those who understand the company to run it.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- waxman 16y agoshady oligarchy money. that's their secret sauce.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- sjasmin 16y agoI bet they announce a deal with foursquare pretty soon too. Just goes to show you have to be in it to win it. I realize they are overpaying for these opportunities, but this trend of what I call, private IPO's, seems to be the new hot thing and DST is going to run the table while everyone else catches on. I personally think they will be successful so long as they diversify their risk enough.