Social messaging service Twitter is reportedly brokering a deal for mutual fund manager BlackRock to buy up to $80m of shares from its employees at a $9bn valuation.
If enough employees accept the tender offer to hit the $80m limit, BlackRock will own just less than 1% of Twitter, according to news provider Financial Times.
In 2011, Alwaleed Bin Talal, a Saudi Arabian prince, invested $300m in Twitter, following Russian venture firm Digital Sky Technologies (DST) reportedly investing $400m in Twitter in August as part of an $800m funding round.
DST is backed by Chinese internet firm Tencent and South African media company Naspers. T Rowe Price, an US mutual fund and a fund run by US-based bank JP Morgan had also invested in the company, the FT said.
Pinterest, in which Japan-based internet retailer Rakuten invested $100m last year, recently sold $30m in early-investor stock to SV Angel, according to news provider TechCrunch.