Bebo
Rafat Ali
Jul 9, 2009 11:16 PM
Michael Birch, the founder of Bebo who made gazillions handing it over to AOL (NYSE: TWX) and leaving with the deal, has *so much money* he doesn’t know what to do with it, so he does the next best thing: launch a digital media fund. We had some details on…
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Money, M&A & Venture Capital, Venture Capital, Countries, Europe, UK, bebo, michael birch
Robert Andrews
Feb 23, 2009 10:26 PM
A few weeks after AOL (NYSE: TWX) denied it would hastily offload its $850 million Bebo acquisition, the social network is trumpeting a whole roster of new products offered not just through Bebo, but through AOL itself, AIM, ICQ and AOL’s mobile products, each of which is harmonizing user profiles.…
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Social Media, Community, Companies, AOL, Time Warner, bebo, joanna shields
Robert Andrews
Feb 3, 2009 5:01 AM
That’s an understatment. What do the Bebo founders think of reports AOL (NYSE: TWX) wants to sell Bebo, less than a year after buying it from them for $850 million? Says serial entrepreneur Paul Birch, brother of Michael Birch, still hungover (via TechFluff.tv): “It’s only mildly disappointing. We’re financially disconnected…
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Companies, AOL, Time Warner, bebo, paul birch
Robert Andrews
Jan 27, 2009 2:03 PM
We, too, heard the rumor, toward the end of last year, that AOL (NYSE: TWX) was considering off-loading Bebo, less than a year after paying a hefty $850 million for the social network. But, after checking with multiple sources, our queries weren’t able to substantiate the claim. Now TechCrunch has…
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Companies, AOL, Time Warner, bebo
Robert Andrews
Dec 10, 2008 12:06 PM
So what do Bebo users get for the $850 million AOL (NYSE: TWX) shelled out for the social site? Easier *Yahoo* Mail access, for one. Bebo is today launching Social Inbox, a social feed and email aggregator that brings access to services including Twitter, Flickr, Del.icio.us, AIM, YouTube, Gmail, Yahoo!…
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Social Media, Companies, AOL, Time Warner, bebo
Robert Andrews
Jul 8, 2008 2:35 AM
Just four months after she joined video sharer Dailymotion as its first UK MD, Kate Burns is joining Bebo on August 4 in a new position as European VP and MD, Guardian.co.uk is told. That’s to fill some of the gaps created by Bebo president Joanna Shields’ promotion to president…
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Industry Moves, Companies, AOL, Time Warner, Countries, Europe, bebo, kate burns
David Kaplan
Jun 29, 2008 11:01 PM
AOL’s (NYSE: TWX) Platform-A is trying to entice developers to make apps that carry its ads by promising guaranteed rates for CPMs on Facebook and Bebo, which AOL bought for $850 million back in March. AOL isn’t disclosing the amount of the guarantee but, on average, CPMs on remnant networks…
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Advertising, Marketing, Social Media, Companies, AOL, Facebook, Time Warner, bebo
Rafat Ali
May 30, 2008 6:47 PM
Angel Gambino, the UK-based head of music for social network Bebo, now owned by AOL (NYSE: TWX), is leaving the company, reports News.com, and she confirmed to me in an e-mail. She was only there a year, after having joined the network in May last year as the global VP…
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Entertainment, Music, Industry Moves, Companies, AOL, Time Warner, Countries, Europe, bebo
Staci D. Kramer
May 18, 2008 7:25 PM
It’s official—AOL (NYSE: TWX) now owns Bebo, closing the $850 million acquisition roughly two months after making it public. The social media network will not stand on its own; instead, AOL is combining Bebo, AIM, ICQ and its other community platforms into a new business unit known as the People…
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Money, M&A & Venture Capital, Mergers & Acquisitions, Social Media, Companies, AOL, Time Warner, Countries, Asia, India, Europe, bebo, joanna shields, people networks, ron grant
Robert Andrews
Apr 29, 2008 7:47 PM
AOL president Ron Grant, appearing on our EconSM panel, suggested new acquisition of Bebo would be used to thread social features throughout AOL’s new-look websites. In a later chat with my colleagues David Kaplan, Staci Kramer and I, Grant expanded on the philosophy and talked about the “turnaround” for a…
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Companies, AOL, Time Warner, bebo, ron grant
Joseph Weisenthal
Apr 29, 2008 6:45 PM
AOL’s $850 million purchase of Bebo back in March was one of the big social media deals of the year. In a Q&A with ContentNext co-editor Staci Kramer and paidContent:UK Editor Robert Andrews, Ron Grant of AOL (NYSE: AOL) and Bebo’s Joanna Shields (live from London!) discussed the deal, and…
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Events, ContentNext Events, EconSM, Companies, AOL, Time Warner, bebo, joanna shields, ron grant
Rafat Ali
Mar 15, 2008 10:14 PM
Bebo founders and husband-wife team Michael and Xochi Birch will make about $600 million in the sale of the social networking site to AOL (NYSE: TWX) for $850 million. The two founders are reported to have about a 70 percent stake at the time of the deal. This for less…
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Money, M&A & Venture Capital, Mergers & Acquisitions, Companies, AOL, Time Warner, bebo
David Kaplan
Mar 13, 2008 5:45 PM
Attendees at the McGraw Hill Media Summit were still gathering details here and there about AOL’s (NYSE: TWX) $850 million purchase of social net Bebo for $850 million. Some initial reactions: —Tim Hanlon, EVP, Ventures, Publicis’ Denuo: Buying Bebo certainly expands the dimension of AOL offerings and audience. “But towards…
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Money, M&A & Venture Capital, Mergers & Acquisitions, Companies, AOL, Time Warner, bebo
Robert Andrews
Mar 13, 2008 12:05 PM
After a late night finalizing the announcement of today’s $850 million acquisition and a hectic morning, Bebo’s affable president Joanna Shields spent some time with Staci and I on a call from New York. She confirmed that Bebo’s husband-and-wife founding team has cashed out, the ad relationship with Yahoo (NSDQ:…
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Money, M&A & Venture Capital, Mergers & Acquisitions, Companies, AOL, Time Warner, bebo
Rafat Ali
Mar 13, 2008 11:28 AM
So we reported on the return the investors got, but not on Bebo’s actual revenue numbers. Kara digs in and reports on some of the real revenue numbers: Bebo’s revenues for 2006 were only $7 million with $3 million in EBITDA…In 2007, the results are still small, with $20 million…
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Money, M&A & Venture Capital, Mergers & Acquisitions, Companies, AOL, Time Warner, bebo
Joseph Weisenthal
Mar 13, 2008 8:46 AM
—Spencer Wang, Bear Stearns: Cash flow at Bebo is likely to be pretty light, so the buy will cause some dilution at AOL (NYSE: TWX), although it will not have a meaningful impact on Time Warner’s bottom line. The deal gives the company a “beach head” in the social networking…
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Money, M&A & Venture Capital, Mergers & Acquisitions, Social Media, Companies, AOL, Time Warner, bebo
Robert Andrews
Mar 13, 2008 8:38 AM
AOL (NYSE: TWX) and Bebo bosses hosted reporters and analysts on a conference call to explain the reasons for the $850 million acquisition. —AOL CEO Randy Falco (left): “This is a tremendous acquisition and one I think is game-changing for AOL - it puts us squarely as a leader in…
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Companies, AOL, Time Warner, bebo, joanna shields, ron grant
Robert Andrews
Mar 13, 2008 8:10 AM
VC firm Balderton Capital will reap about $140 million - nine times what it invested in Bebo less than two years ago - by selling its 15.7 percent stake in the social net to AOL (NYSE: TWX). That’s a huge return on the $15 million investment it only made in…
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Money, M&A & Venture Capital, Mergers & Acquisitions, Social Media, Companies, AOL, Time Warner, Countries, Europe, bebo
Joseph Weisenthal
Mar 13, 2008 8:02 AM
For more information on Bebo, check out our archives: —AOL Buying Bebo For $850 Million—Rumourbusting: Bebo/Murdoch, Free Indie, WAYN/AOL—Bebo Opens Platform To All Comers; Widget Effort Starts Here—Facebook Counters OpenSocial; Bebo Playing Both Sides—Interview: Joanna Shields, International President, Bebo: Opening The Media—Bebo Launches Open Media Platform For Social Viewing; 22…
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Money, M&A & Venture Capital, Mergers & Acquisitions, Social Media, Companies, AOL, Time Warner, bebo
Robert Andrews
Mar 13, 2008 7:02 AM
In a major and rather unexpected deal, AOL (NYSE: TWX) is buying social net Bebo for $850 million in cash. Rumors had swirled around Bebo of either an acquisition or new financing for weeks, but few anticipated AOL as the suitor. AOL will get Bebo’s 40 million members and 80…
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Money, M&A & Venture Capital, Mergers & Acquisitions, Companies, AOL, Time Warner, bebo
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