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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

After Facebook, its Yelp fall with lockup period lifted

Yelp Inc. (YELP) fell in early trading after the online review website lifted a ban on stock sales by some of the company’s largest investors, following a precedent set by Facebook Inc. (FB) and Groupon Inc. earlier this month.

Yelp dropped as much as 5.8 percent to $17.20 at in early trading, after closing at $18.26 in New York yesterday. Before today, the stock had risen 22 percent since a March 1 initial public offering.

Inside investors are eligible to sell about 53 million shares of the company 180 days after its IPO, a period that extended through yesterday, according to a regulatory filing. Yelp’s decline comes after social network Facebook Inc., coupon- provider Groupon Inc. (GRPN) and online-review compiler Angie’s List Inc. (ANGI) sank to records after stock lockup expirations earlier this month.

Yelp, based in San Francisco, lets users post reviews of neighborhood businesses ranging from plumbers to pet shops on the Web. The company raised $107.3 million in its IPO, pricing shares at $15 each. Bessemer Venture Partners and Elevation Partners are among Yelp’s shareholders regulatory filings show.

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