Facebook would have discussed an initial stake of Xiaomi

HONG KONG / BEIJING (Reuters) - Mark Zuckerberg and CEO of Xiaomi, Lei Jun, discussed a possible investment in Facebook in the first Chinese manufacturer of smartphones before his final fundraiser without reaching agreement, a- was learned from several sources familiar with the matter.
The discussions took place at a private dinner on the occasion of a visit of Mark Zuckerberg in Beijing in October, but they have never been formalized, said three of the sources told Reuters.
The leaders of both groups have included discussions of political and trade implications of a possible entry of Facebook, banned in China since 2009, the Xiaomi of round, a star of the high valued Chinese technology $ 45 billion (38 billion euros).
A person directly informed of the development of the recent capital raising Xiaomi said that investing time envisaged by Facebook would not have been "huge".
A source said that the contacts between Facebook and Xiaomi on the possibility of an investment had started in mid-2014.
Lei Jun particular have taken into account the potential political impact of a financial agreement in view of the ban on world's first social network in China, said two sources.
Xiaomi also feared that an alliance with Facebook complicate its relationship with Google, a crucial partner since all the Chinese group phones are equipped with Android, the operating system developed by Google.
Xiaomi realized last year a turnover of nearly 12 billion. He finished the last month lifting of 1.1 billion fund with investment funds Investment All-Stars, DST Global, Hopu Investment Management and Yunfeng Capital, owned by the owner of Alibaba Jack Ma and the Singapore sovereign wealth fund, GIC.