SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Social networking site Facebook has closed a second $60 million investment round with Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing through his foundation, a source familiar with the deal confirmed on Thursday.


The source said the deal, which boosts Li's holdings in Facebook to $120 million, including an earlier $60 million round late last year, is valued on the same $15 billion terms as a $240 million stake Microsoft took in October.

Li's investment was made by the Li Ka Shing Foundation. Li-backed companies such as Hutchison Whampoa Ltd and TOM Group were not involved, the source said.

The stake boosts Li's holdings to a 0.8 percent share of Facebook while Microsoft's holds another 1.6 percent.

A Facebook spokesman declined to comment on Li's stake.

MarketWatch broke details of the story earlier out of Hong Kong, quoting Li as saying "I may raise my investment in Facebook -- anything is possible" during an earnings conference call for his company Hutchison Whampoa. But the report did not detail the scope of his investment.

Founded in 1980, the Li Ka Shing Foundation has focused on funding a variety of health, education and environmental projects in recent years.

In prior rounds dating back to 2004, Facebook has taken about $40.7 million from venture capital investors including PayPal co-founder and former CEO Peter Thiel along with Accel Partners, Greylock Partners and Meritech Capital Partners.

(Reporting by Eric Auchard; Editing by Gunna Dickson)
© Copyright 2007 Reuters.

Photo:
Hutchison Whampoa Limited and Cheung Kong Holdings Chairman Li Ka-shing attends the company's 2007 annual results news conference in Hong Kong March 27, 2008. REUTERS/Victor Fraile