Six years ago News. Corp paid over half a billion dollars for MySpace. Now the company is hoping to sell the social networking site for $100 million -- and that might not be a bargain.
Beleaguered social networking site MySpace may have a new owner by the end of the week. The Wall Street Journal has reported that News. Corp is seeking $100 million for MySpace. The sale is expected to attract bids from a variety investment firms and companies who may seek the buy parts or the whole of MySpace.
News. Corp paid $580 million for MySpace back in 2005. At the time, the purchase appeared to be a solid investment. But as Facebook rose to become the preferred social networking destination, users began abandoning MySpace in droves. In late 2010, after a redesign and a new focus on music and entertainment failed to reinvigorate, News. Corp suggested that it was ready to give up on the site. MySpace began drastically scaling back its workforce earlier this year, a clear sign that the site wasn’t going to be in the hands of News Corp. much longer.
We may know who will end up with the company by the end of the week. Parties reportedly interested in acquiring MySpace include private equity firm THL Partners, Redscout Ventures and Criterion Capital, owner of social network Bebo. Chinese Internet holding company Tencent is also reportedly interested as is Myspace co-founder Chris De Wolfe. What’s not yet clear is what any of these companies plan to do with MySpace if a sale goes through.
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