Metacafe Rumors Still Swirling
TechCrunch runs a rumor that Metacafe is being sold. We’ve been hearing about this for the past few weeks, but never from a source with first-hand knowledge of the deal. Both Metacafe and Yahoo, the rumored buyer, deny it up and down. TechCrunch’s Natali Del Conte hears the price at $200 to $300 million. The most common number we heard quoted was $700 million.
Update: Israeli news site, YNet reports that there is a sale pending, without offering up any details. Our sources say that while the company might have talked to a few suitors (who hasn’t), the deal is far from closing. We checked in with CEO Arik Czerniak who declined to comment.
Still, one cannot deny the fact that something is up, and we will be tracking this story closely. In a poll following the acquisition of Grouper, we asked GigaOM readers who was the most likely company to be bought. Nearly 55% said YouTube, while 16% said it would be Guba. Metacafe got 10% of the total 912 votes.
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Metacafe and Yahoo…
When Terry Semel posted a blog about the reorg of Yahoo, I commented on his blog that “I think something big, bold and dramatic on the order of AOL’s taking down the walls, or Google scooping YouTube, will be necessary…
Unified Studies on December 7th, 2006 at 12:27 pm - Permalink
$700m sounds high for what it is, iirc they are about 1/5 the size of GooTube which implies c $300 m, no doubt plus a premium for the paucity of alternative.
alan patrick on December 7th, 2006 at 3:20 pm - Permalink
$700m sounds high for what it is, iirc they are about 1/5 the size of GooTube which implies c $300 m, no doubt plus a premium for the paucity of alternatives.
alan patrick on December 7th, 2006 at 3:21 pm - Permalink
The Producer Rewards program they have will be a big plus to whoever buys them. All these YouTube creators are going to figure out someday that they are creating a lot of wealth for Google, and getting nothing in return.
darryl p. on December 7th, 2006 at 5:33 pm - Permalink
Metacafe’s top 200 videos have many more views than YouTube’s top 200, not to mention the fact that Metacafe’s system makes your video surface on its own merit.
Julie on December 8th, 2006 at 6:31 am - Permalink
12.8.06: Rumors of Metacafe sale for $200-$700mn…
By Richard Koman for SiliconValleyWatcher TechCrunch and GigaOM are running rumors that video sharing site Metacafe will be sold for some hundreds of millions of dollars, anywhere from $200 million to $700 million. Way too much for an also-ran video s…
Silicon Valley Watcher--reporting on the business and culture of innovation on January 31st, 2007 at 10:14 am - Permalink
[…] Now is the time to sell a video-aggregating startup. Scuttlebutt says the window is closing with companies like eBaum’s World failing to find a buyer despite their efforts. Many had thought the window was closed, unless Metacafe could close its much-rumored acquisition by Yahoo or someone else. Valuations appear to be getting lower even if traffic isn’t headed south, what with lawsuits and maneuvering by the GooTube juggernaut. […]
NewTeeVee » Metacafe Demotes CEO on February 6th, 2007 at 12:22 pm - Permalink
[...] at the time, in December of 2006, it seemed like a rumored tentative offer from Yahoo (we had heard anywhere from $200 to $700 [...]
Metacafe Founders Cash Out « NewTeeVee on April 29th, 2008 at 10:17 am - Permalink
[...] are for cashing out the chips, but it seems like since the $700 million Yahoo acquisition rumors back in Dec 2006, it started to look like the company was running out of exit options. Last summer Metacafe was back [...]
Metacafe Founders Cash Out Their Chips | Venture Capital Cafe on April 30th, 2008 at 11:10 pm - Permalink