eBay and StumbleUpon
p2pnet.net news:- eBay is in “advanced talks” to buy StumbleUpon, says The Wall Street Journal. “The potential price for a deal is in the range of $75 million,” says the story, quoting unnamed sources.
“One of the people said that no final agreement has been reached and the talks could fall apart,” it says.
StumbleUpon is a browser plugin through which users discover and rate webpages, photos, videos, and news articles, explains the Wikipedia, going on:
“These webpages are typically presented when the user clicks the Stumble button on the browser’s toolbar. StumbleUpon chooses which new webpage to display based on the user’s ratings of previous pages, ratings by his/her friends, and by the ratings of users with similar interests. i.e. it is a recommendation system which uses peer and social networking principles. There is also one-click blogging built in as well.
“Users can rate, or choose not to rate, any webpage with a thumbs up or thumbs down, and clicking the Stumble button resembles “channel-surfing” the web. Toolbar versions exist for Firefox, Mozilla Application Suite and Internet Explorer.”
“Two sources have confirmed that the rapidly growing StumbleUpon recently approached at least one large Internet company to be acquired,” said TechCrunch last November, saying the asking price was $50 million.
“The deal doesn’t appear to have been widely shopped,” said the post, adding:
“The real story may be a disconnect between the company’s executives and investors. StumbleUpon has only raised a single seed round of financing – $1.5 million – and angel investors often informally shop a company, with or without the company’s permission, in the hope of an early cash out.”
Also See:
The Wall Street Journal – EBay Seeks to Add StumbleUpon to Portfolio, May 8, 2007
TechCrunch – StumbleUpon (may be) For Sale: $50 million, November 14, 2007
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