Digital Sky Technologies will pay $14.77 a share for Facebook common stock, in a deal that values the world's No. 1 Internet social network at roughly $6.5 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The deal will allow DST to purchase common shares from Facebook employees and ex-employees, and is separate from the Russian investment firm's $200 million investment in Facebook that was announced in May.

Together, the two transactions will give DST a 3.5 percent stake in Facebook, according to the source.

A Facebook representative confirmed that the common share purchase is underway. In a statement, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he was pleased that the price that DST is offering is much greater than the price Facebook originally considered last fall in a similar program to allow employees to cash out their shares.

(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

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