Acquisitions

Skype Litigation Settled; Sale by eBay to Investors to Proceed

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 6, 2009 - 8:35am.

San Jose, Calif. - Skype parent company eBay (NASD: EBAY) announced on Friday that litigation between an investor group looking to acquire Skype and the creators of the Internet telephone service has been settled, and that its sale of a majority stake in Skype will now proceed. As a result of the settlement, the acquisition deal has been restructured, and Skype creators Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis will now join the investor group, led by Silver Lake, and make a "significant capital investment" in exchange for a 14% stake in Skype.

eMusic Parent Makes Bid for The Orchard

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 3, 2009 - 7:36am.

New York - Dimensional Associates, the private equity unit of JDS Capital that owns digital music service eMusic, is in talks to acquire all of the shares of digital music and video distributor The Orchard (NASD: ORCD) it does not already own, PaidContent reported, citing an SEC filing.

Out-of-Home Digital Network Zoom Buys Gym Screen Media

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 3, 2009 - 7:09am.

London - Zoom Media, the U.K.-based provider of a digital out-of-home programming and advertising network in health and fitness venues, announced on Tuesday that it has acquired rival Gym Screen Media.

Amazon.com Closes Acquisition of Web Shoe Store Zappos

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 2, 2009 - 8:37am.

Seattle - Completing one of the summer's largest acquisitions, online retail giant Amazon.com (NASD: AMZN) on Monday officially closed its $850 million deal to buy Web shoe store Zappos.

Report: Comcast Closer to NBC Universal Deal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 2, 2009 - 7:50am.

New York - Comcast (NASD: CMCSA) is closer to a deal with General Electric (NYSE: GE) to take over control of its NBC Universal unit, after meetings last week concluded with a tentative agreement on the main points, The New York Times reported, citing people briefed on the talks. Under the proposed deal, Comcast would contribute "several billions of dollars in cash and its own stable of cable networks," and receive a 51% stake of NBC Universal.

Social Games Maker Zynga Acquires Virtual Pets Firm GoPets

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 2, 2009 - 7:31am.

San Francisco - Zynga, a developer of social media games, has acquired virtual pets firm GoPets for an undisclosed sum, Virtual Goods News reported, citing a Facebook post from GoPets founder Erick Bethke.

Web Metrics Firm comScore to Acquire Certifica, Cut Jobs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 30, 2009 - 6:46am.

Reston, Va. - Boosting its presence in the fast-growing Latin American market, comScore (NASD: SCOR), a provider of Internet audience measurement services, said it will acquire Chilean Web measurement firm Certifica.

Report: Pirate Bay Being Courted by Four New Suitors

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 28, 2009 - 9:45am.

Stockholm, Sweden - In the wake of the unraveling of Global Gaming Factory's unsuccessful attempt to acquire The Pirate Bay, as many as four new suitors have emerged with an eye towards purchasing the file-sharing hub, TorrentFreak reported, citing Sweden's Dagens Industri. Reservella, the Seychelles-based holding company that currently owns the Pirate Bay, is reportedly currently in talks with GamersGate, a Swedish online games firm.

Retail Convergence to be Acquired for up to $350 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 28, 2009 - 8:09am.

Boston - Retail Convergence, the Boston-based operator of RueLaLa.com and SmartBargains.com, an e-commerce marketplace, has agreed to be acquired by GSI Commerce, a provider of e-commerce and interactive marketing services.

Omaha World-Herald Acquires WikiCity Local Wiki Network

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 28, 2009 - 7:21am.

Omaha, Nebr. - WikiCity, an online network of over 22,000 city-based wikis, has been acquired by newspaper publisher Omaha World-Herald Co, the World Herald reported on its website.

Adobe Completes Tender Offer for Omniture

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 23, 2009 - 10:23am.

San Jose, Calif. - One month after launching its tender offer for Utah-based Omniture, Adobe Systems (NASD: ADBE), the developer of popular Web publishing software, said on Friday that it has completed the deal, paying about $1.46 billion for an 87% stake in the developer of online business optimization software.

tags: Deals | Acquisitions | Adobe Systems | Omniture |

Nickelodeon Buys Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for $60M

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2009 - 8:20am.

New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Nickelodeon children's TV network announced on Wednesday that it has acquired the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) franchise from creators The Mirage Group for $60 million.

PlayNetwork to Acquire In-Store TV Network Channel M

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 20, 2009 - 7:15am.

Redmond, Wash. - PlayNetwork, a producer of branded music, messaging, video, entertainment promotions and event media, announced on Tuesday that it will acquire Channel M, a producer of customized in-store TV networks.

TechCrunch: News Corp. Selling Photobucket for $60 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 19, 2009 - 8:58am.

Palo Alto, Calif. - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) digital media unit is close to unloading its Photobucket photo-sharing site to Ontela, a Seattle-based mobile photo-sharing service, in a deal that values Photobucket at $60 million, TechCrunch reported, citing unnamed sources.

Sprint Nextel to Buy Midwest Affiliate iPCS in $831M Deal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 19, 2009 - 8:26am.

Reston, Va. - Ending years of litigation over territory rights, Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) said on Monday that it will acquire Midwest affiliate iPCS in a deal worth $831 million. Under the agreement, Sprint Nextel will launch a cash tender offer for the Illinois-based company, paying $24 a share. The acquisition is expected to be completed by late this year or early 2010.

Web TV Industry News Site Tubefilter Acquires Tilzy.TV

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 19, 2009 - 7:23am.

Los Angeles - Tubefilter, a news and information site covering the Web TV industry, announced on Monday that it will acquire Tilzy.TV, a Web TV entertainment reviews, news and events business website.

Home Improvement Social Network BeJane Acquired

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 19, 2009 - 7:18am.

Burbank, Calif. - BeJane, a home improvement-focused online social network, has been acquired by an unnamed buyer, PaidContent reported, citing a note sent to network members.

tags: Deals | Social Networking | Acquisitions | BeJane |

DOJ to Seek 'Major Concessions' on Live Nation-Ticketmaster

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 16, 2009 - 8:06am.

Washington - The U.S. Justice Dept. is providing "stiff resistance" to the proposed $1.5 billion merger of concert promoter Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) and Ticketmaster (NASD: TKTM), and will require "major concessions" from the companies if it is to approve any deal, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing several people familiar with the situation. One source said there are elements of the deal in its current form that would prompt the Justice Dept. to sue to block it from happening.

Digg Acquires Founder Rose's WeFollow Twitter Ranking Site

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 16, 2009 - 7:50am.

San Francisco - Digg, the user-generated Web content ranking service, has acquired WeFollow, a Twitter directory service launched by Digg founder Kevin Rose earlier this year, TechCrunch reports.

Skype Creators Seek Injunction Against Former Joost CEO Volpi

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 15, 2009 - 9:00am.

Wilmington, Del. - The creators of peer-to-peer services Kazaa, Skype and Joost have asked a federal court for an injunction against former Joost CEO Mike Volpi and Index Ventures, where he is now a partner, to prevent them from using trade secrets in their bid to acquire Skype from eBay. Developers Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis allege that Volpi breached his duties to Joost while employed there by dangling a prospective workaround -- that would eliminate the need for Skype to use Zennstrom's and Friis' peer-to-peer technology -- to investors looking to acquire Skype from eBay (NASD: EBAY).

Skype Litigation Settled; Sale by eBay to Investors to Proceed

eMusic Parent Makes Bid for The Orchard

Out-of-Home Digital Network Zoom Buys Gym Screen Media

Amazon.com Closes Acquisition of Web Shoe Store Zappos

Report: Comcast Closer to NBC Universal Deal

Social Games Maker Zynga Acquires Virtual Pets Firm GoPets

Web Metrics Firm comScore to Acquire Certifica, Cut Jobs

Report: Pirate Bay Being Courted by Four New Suitors

Retail Convergence to be Acquired for up to $350 Million

Omaha World-Herald Acquires WikiCity Local Wiki Network

Adobe Completes Tender Offer for Omniture

Nickelodeon Buys Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for $60M

PlayNetwork to Acquire In-Store TV Network Channel M

TechCrunch: News Corp. Selling Photobucket for $60 Million

Sprint Nextel to Buy Midwest Affiliate iPCS in $831M Deal

Web TV Industry News Site Tubefilter Acquires Tilzy.TV

Home Improvement Social Network BeJane Acquired

DOJ to Seek 'Major Concessions' on Live Nation-Ticketmaster

Digg Acquires Founder Rose's WeFollow Twitter Ranking Site

Skype Creators Seek Injunction Against Former Joost CEO Volpi

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