Barely three months after the company's initial public offering are several Zynga insiders looking to get rich by selling off a hunk of their stock. That includes founder Mark Pincus, who will offer a wad of shares valued at more than $200 million.
Others in on the sale include senior Zynga executives John Schappert and Dave Wehner; LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, who is a board member; and stakeholder Google, looking to sell about $50 million worth of stock. Zynga will receive none of the proceeds.
Zynga reported the intentions in a regulatory filing on Friday. Following the news, Zynga's stock dropped 2.6 percent to $13.40. "It is never a positive to see a founder sell off shares," Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia told Reuters. Another analyst said that despite the size of Pincus' sale—43 million shares—his remaining stake is so large it won't diminish his control of the company.
In another filing, the company revealed it paid $180 million for OMGPOP, the developer of Draw Something. The purchase was originally believed to be around $200 million.
Zynga founder and CEO Mark Pincus to sell 16.5 million shares in secondary offering [Reuters/San Jose Mercury News]