There has been a lot of debate lately about the real value of online photo site Photobucket and the valuations have range from double digital millions to, well, whatever sticks. Figuring the timing, the company has hired a banker to check out the interest, reports Bloomberg. The site is not a destination, but lets users post photos (and now videos) and embed them into blogs and social networks. The company, with 63 employees, generates revenue through ads, and users paying a subscription fee of $25 a year get more storage and don’t see ads.
Last year Photobucket raised $14.7 million in second round funding. CEO Alex Welch said in the story he expects the company to become profitable in Q3.
A rational analysis of Photobucket’s long term prospects are here in this News.com story. The gist: any business built on the backs of MySpace and others are then subjected to the whims and fancies of that ecosystem and the companies involved.