Acquisitions

eBay Completes Sale of Skype Unit to Investor Group

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 20, 2009 - 9:34am.

San Jose, Calif. - Nearly three months after first announcing the deal, online auction giant eBay (NASD: EBAY) said that it has completed the sale of a majority stake in its Skype Internet telephone business to an investment group headed by Silver Lake Partners. Under the deal, the investor group -- which also included Joltid Limited, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Andreessen Horowitz -- paid $1.9 billion and a $125 million note in exchange for a 70% stake in the unit.

MySpace to Acquire imeem Music Streaming Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 19, 2009 - 9:29am.

Los Angeles - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace has agreed to acquire streaming music service imeem for an undisclosed sum, although sources told CNET News.com that the deal is valued at about $8 million. The deal reportedly includes a payment of $1 million in cash, as well as earn outs and accounts receivable.

Report: MySpace in Talks to Acquire Music Streamer imeem

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 17, 2009 - 8:23am.

Los Angeles - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace online social network is in "late stage negotiations" to acquire the music streaming service imeem, TechCrunch reported, citing multiple unnamed sources. Founded in 2003, San Francisco-based imeem started off as a music-focused social network application, but later shifted focus to concentrate on music streaming.

In-Game Video Ad Firm NeoEdge Merges With Offspring

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 19, 2009 - 10:22am.

Mountain View, Calif. - NeoEdge, a provider of in-game video ad insertion services, announced on Thursday that it will merge with Offspring, a developer of casual online games.

Adknowledge Buys Ad Network Unit of SocialMedia.com

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 19, 2009 - 9:59am.

Kansas City, Mo. - Adknowledge, a provider of behavioral online advertising services, announced on Thursday that it has acquired the advertising business of SocialMedia.com.

Party Planning Software Firm Punchbowl Acquires I'm In!

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 17, 2009 - 11:38am.

Framingham, Mass. - Punchbowl Software, the developer of the online party planning site MyPunchbowl.com, on Tuesday announced the acquisition of I'm In!, which previously operated as a site for group travel and local trip ideas.

tags: Deals | Acquisitions | Punchbowl Software | I'm In |

VeriSign Sells m-Qube Unit to Mobile Messenger

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 16, 2009 - 11:15am.

Mountain View, Calif. - VeriSign, a provider of Internet infrastructure and identity services, said on Monday that it has sold its m-Qube mobile messaging aggregator to Los Angeles-based Mobile Messenger.

Social Games Firm Playdom Acquires Green Patch, Trippert Labs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 13, 2009 - 9:02am.

Mountain View, Calif. - A day after it raised $43 million in new financing, social games developer Playdom announced that it has acquired Facebook game developer Green Patch, and iPhone and social game developer Trippert Labs.

Forbes Media Acquires Web Photo Platform FlipGloss

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 13, 2009 - 8:21am.

New York - Forbes Media on Friday announced that it has acquired FlipGloss, the developer of a Web photo publishing platform.

Churchill Downs Bids $126.8 Million for Youbet.com

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 12, 2009 - 8:48am.

Louisville, Ky. - Churchill Downs Incorporated, whose holdings including the Kentucky Derby horse race and other race tracks, announced on Thursday a $126.8 million bid to acquire online gambling site Youbet.com.

Report: Hollywood Reporter, Billboard to be Sold to Finkelstein

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 11, 2009 - 10:12am.

Los Angeles - Nielsen is close to a deal to sell its Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Adweek and other magazines in its business media division to News Communications, James Finkelstein's company that publishes The Hill and the "Who's Who" stable of publications, TheWrap.com reported.

WSJ: Comcast, GE Agree on $30 Billion NBCU Valuation

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 9, 2009 - 8:55am.

New York - Comcast (NASD: CMCSA), the nation's largest cable TV provider, has agreed with General Electric (NYSE: GE) on a valuation of $30 billion for NBC Universal, the film and television company it is seeking to acquire, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The sources told The Journal that the two companies "are now ironing out the final details of an agreement...which could come as early as the end of this week."

Electronic Arts Buys Social Games Firm Playfish for $400M

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 9, 2009 - 8:41am.

Redwood City, Calif. - Video game developer and publisher Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS) announced on Monday that it has acquired Playfish, a creator of social network games, for about $275 million in cash, with an additional $25 million in equity retention arrangements. The sellers are also entitled to another $100 million in performance-based consideration on milestones achieved through the end of 2011. Founded in 2007, London-based Playfish's social network games, which include "Pet Society" and "Who Has the Biggest Brain," have been installed more than 150 million times.

Google Acquires Mobile Ad Firm AdMob for $750 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 9, 2009 - 8:30am.

Mountain View, Calif. - Google (NASD: GOOG) announced on Monday that it has signed a deal to acquire mobile display advertising provider AdMob, for $750 million in stock. Founded in 2006, San Mateo, Calif.-based AdMob offers advertisers self-service tools to target their mobile ads, and has developer mobile ad platforms for the iPhone and more recently, Google's own Android operating system for mobile phones.

Report: Google Acquires VoIP Firm Gizmo5 for $30 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 9, 2009 - 8:17am.

San Diego - Google (NASD: GOOG) has paid about $30 million in cash to acquire Gizmo5, a developer of Internet telephony technology, TechCrunch reported, citing multiple sources with knowledge of the deal.

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.

eBay Completes Sale of Skype Unit to Investor Group

MySpace to Acquire imeem Music Streaming Service

Report: MySpace in Talks to Acquire Music Streamer imeem

In-Game Video Ad Firm NeoEdge Merges With Offspring

Adknowledge Buys Ad Network Unit of SocialMedia.com

Party Planning Software Firm Punchbowl Acquires I'm In!

VeriSign Sells m-Qube Unit to Mobile Messenger

Social Games Firm Playdom Acquires Green Patch, Trippert Labs

Forbes Media Acquires Web Photo Platform FlipGloss

Churchill Downs Bids $126.8 Million for Youbet.com

Report: Hollywood Reporter, Billboard to be Sold to Finkelstein

WSJ: Comcast, GE Agree on $30 Billion NBCU Valuation

Electronic Arts Buys Social Games Firm Playfish for $400M

Google Acquires Mobile Ad Firm AdMob for $750 Million

Report: Google Acquires VoIP Firm Gizmo5 for $30 Million

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

Upcoming DMW Events

DMW 100 Financial Index

Recent comments

Navigation

User login

Ads

Contributors

DMW Columns

Content by Type

Translate Site

Daily Newsletter and Networking

Latest Top Stories

DMW Widget - Grab it and embed!

Latest Briefly Noted

Poll

Our Sponsors

Other Ads

Our Publications