News Corp sells ailing Myspace
Photo/FILE
Myspace, which was launched in 2003, was the leading social networking site on the Internet when it was bought by News Corp six years ago but it has been losing members to Facebook for years.
WASHINGTON
News Corp sold Myspace on Wednesday for a fraction of its purchase price, bringing the curtain down on Rupert Murdoch's tie-up with a one-time social networking star that ended up being eclipsed by Facebook.
Myspace, which was bought by News Corp in 2005 for US$580 million (S$715 million), was bought by Specific Media, a digital ad-targeting platform, which said financial terms were confidential.
The News Corp-owned technology blog All Things Digital put the purchase price at US$35 million, however, and said the deal includes slashing about half of Myspace's staff of between 400 and 500 people.
'Myspace is a recognised leader that has pioneered the social media space,' Mr Tim Vanderhook, chief executive of Irvine, California-based Specific Media said in a statement.
'The company has transformed the ways in which audiences discover, consume and engage with content online,' Mr Vanderhook said. 'We look forward to combining our platforms to drive the next generation of digital innovation.'
Mr Vanderhook said News Corp would take a minority equity stake in Specific Media as part of the deal.
According to All Things Digital, News Corp will retain a five to 10 per cent stake in Myspace.
Myspace, which was launched in 2003, was the leading social networking site on the Internet when it was bought by News Corp six years ago but it has been losing members to Facebook for years.
