Facebook hit with lawsuit over plan to issue new shares

A shareholder of Facebook Inc filed a class action proposed on Friday in an attempt to stop the company's plan to issue new Class C securities, calling the measure an unfair agreement to strengthen CEO Mark Zuckerberg as a shareholder of control.

The lawsuit, filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery, following the announcement of the social networking company on Wednesday its plan to issue shares.

The rejiggering of the structure of the action of Facebook is indeed a division of 3-for-1. Zuckerberg said in December it intends to put 99 percent of its shares of Facebook in a new philanthropy project focuses on human potential and equality.

The lawsuit alleges that a committee of the board of Facebook, which approved the transfer of shares "not tough negotiations" with Zuckerberg "for something of significant value" in exchange for granting Zuckerberg added control.

In a statement, Facebook said the plan "is in the best interest of the company and all shareholders." The company has said Zuckerberg keeping the head is key to their future success.

Facebook plans to create a new class of shares that are publicly traded, but are not entitled to vote. Facebook emit two so-called "Class C" for each outstanding Class A and Class B share held by shareholders. These new Class C shares are publicly traded under a new symbol.

Zuckerberg "wants to retain power, while selling large amounts of its shares, and reap billions of dollars in profits," the lawsuit said.

"The issuance of the Class C shares will, indeed, have the same effect as a subsidy Zuckerberg of billions of dollars in equity, for which it must pay anything," he said.

Google settled a lawsuit in 2013, shortly before the trial that opened the way for the company to implement a similar plan.