According to All Things Digital, News Corp. is about to sell MySpace for an asking price as low as $20 million-$30 million. At the moment, advertising network Specific Media and private equity firm Golden Gate Capital are the two frontrunners in acquiring the one-time king of social networks. The purchase will also reportedly include as many as 50% of MySpace’s staff getting laid off (just six months after MySpace gave the pink slip to 47% of its staff). An official announcement could be made as soon as later today.
Being sold for $20 million is a huge blow to MySpace, especially when considering that News Corp.’s original asking price was $100 million and that they purchased the site in 2005 for $580 million. It’s like selling a vintage guitar for $300 when you originally valued it at $1,000. Then again, MySpace isn’t exactly as valuable as that guitar might be. For the past few years, people have only been using MySpace for music purposes, and even that has been taking a hit thanks to YouTube and Vevo.
All Things Digital reports that whoever purchases the site will shift its focus to music. However, YouTube and Vevo are still a dominate force in music streaming, and now the current king of social networks, Facebook, is attempting to enter the music market. In other words, it’s going to be a major uphill battle for MySpace.
We’ll keep you posted when more develops regarding MySpace’s purchase.
UPDATE: It is being confirmed that MySpace has been sold to Specific Media for $35 million in cash and stock. While the price is a bit higher than originally rumored, $35 million is still a far cry from the original asking price of $100,000.
