It may just be lazy August ramblings: FT is reporting that Viacom is considering making a bid for social networking site Bebo. Remember, Viacom lost out at the last second on the MySpace deal, which went to News Corp.
In the past, Viacom has also looked very closely at Facebook, which we’ve reported on, and passed it over because of over-priced valuations. So this is probably some due diligence on the options out there, if nothing else.
Bebo’s very strong in UK and Ireland, though not so much in U.S., where MySpace rules. Michael Birch, founder and CEO of SF-based Bebo, told the FT he was in no hurry to sell—his company was still growing rapidly.
Birch fueled more rumors in a follow-up FT story: He said that they received approaches at the rate of about one a fortnight, but they stressed they were in no rush to sell. He also emphasised it was traditional media companies “like Viacom” looking to acquire a social networking site, rather than internet-based businesses such as Yahoo, that were the most persistent inquirers. He declined to comment on potential bidders.
Related: UK-Heavy Social Network Bebo Gets $15 Million Funding