Andreessen Horowitz, the venture-capital firm, is distributing some Facebook shares to its limited partners today, we just learned from an SEC filing.
Some Facebook watchers will say that, like board member Peter Thiel's massive selloff of Facebook, this is yet another ominous sale of stock by an insider.
After all, Marc Andreessen sits on Facebook's board.
Andreessen Horowitz partner Margit Wennmachers says that's a mischaracterization.
She says that A16Z, as it likes to abbreviate itself, made an investment in Facebook with money from its second fund, and it will be hanging on to all of its shares from that buy.
"We believe in the long-term potential of the company and are holding onto it because of that," she tells us.
The only reason A16Z is dumping some stock today is that, with its first fund, A16z made an investment in Instagram. Instagram was later acquired by Facebook for cash and stock.
A16z has already distributed the cash it earned from that deal to partners. Today it is distributing the stock.
Wennmachers says Andreessen is selling some of his personal stake in Facebook, but only enough to pay taxes on gains.
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