Looks like Microsoft’s (MSFT) $240 million equity stake in Facebook hasn’t exactly retained its value. When it was announced in October of 2007, the 1.6 percent stake valued the social network at $35.90 per share, or a stupefying $15 billion. But in a court hearing this past June held to determine the terms of the company’s settlement with ConnectU - a rival social network that had accused Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg of lifting its source code and business plan when he worked for it as a programmer - Facebook appraised itself at $8.88 per share. It’s new self-proclaimed market value: $3.7 billion.

One last point worth noting here, this one about the terms of Facebook’s settlement with ConnectU. It was reported earlier this week, that the social network had paid ConnectU $65 million to settle the case against it. According to the Associated Press, however, Facebook agreed to pay ConnectU $20 million in cash and 1,253,326 shares of common stock. At the $35.90 per share "Microsoft" valuation, that stock was worth $45 million. But at the "Facebook" valuation, it was worth just $11 million. So in Facebook’s view it agreed to a $31 million settlement, not a $65 million one.