paidContent » revver

LiveUniverse Looking To Acquire Video Site Stage6… Which Has Been Shut Down

Joseph Weisenthal — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 22:44:01 +0000

This is a new one even for Brad Greenspan… after having established a reputation for attempting to thwart deals (News Corp.-MySpace, News Corp.- Dow Jones (NYSE: NWS), Linktone (NSDQ: LTON) -PT Media Nusantra Citra), now he’s trying to stop a site from closing down. His company LiveUniverse has made a bid for Stage6.com, the video sharing site from DivX (NSDQ: DIVX) which was recently shut down. Having recently acquired struggling video site Revver, the company wants to pay $11 million for Stage6, in a combination of cash, free advertising, and equity participation for DivX shareholders. The announcement is typical for him, lashing out at the DivX management, while encouraging shareholders to get on the company for its reluctance to talk, all in a somewhat paranoid sounding manner. Full details here.

News.com: “Taking the issue public is obviously an attempt to embarrass DivX’s board into negotiating. But Greenspan’s accusations do highlight some curious decisions by DivX’s administration.”

It’s Official: Revver Bought By LiveUniverse; MySpace Blamed For Video Site’s Struggles

Rafat Ali — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 01:53:00 +0000

After everyone and their mother in law reported on it, LiveUniverse has made it official: it has bought the online video site Revver. Rumors of the off-again-on-again deal have been floating for a while, as Revver saw its cash base and its value. The official price tag wasn’t announced, though estimates have been all over the map. NTV last claimed that the deal was for a bit under $5 million.

LiveUniverse is touting the synergies between its social networking services and Revver’s content. Another plus: the deal gives LiveUniverse chief Brad Greenspan yet another chance to take a shot at MySpace.

From the release: “As 2007 began, Revver was beginning to show the growth trajectory that would have allowed the company to be profitable in the not too distant future. Suddenly in mid-January 2007, Revver’s proprietary video player that allowed users to post their videos on MySpace and other social networks, stopped working on MySpace. To the average user, it appeared as if Revver’s video embed was broken. Many users never understood what happened and simply thought Revver’s product was poorly designed and most migrated over to services like YouTube. A smaller group of original content creator pioneers and Revver users realized the truth: That MySpace had become a predator aggressively blocking and censoring any web service it deemed competitive or that it saw generating revenue from users of the MySpace service.”

More here.

LiveUniverse Buys Video Sharing Site Revver Out Of Its Misery

Rafat Ali — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 05:42:01 +0000

Rumors have been floating for a while, and the now-on-now-off deal is finally happening: the troubled online video sharing pioneer Revver is being bought by Brad Greenspan video sharing service LiveUniverse, reports NTV. No wording on the price, but would be in the low single digital millions, if that.

Revver was one of the early pioneers in the video sharing space, and was the first to offer an ad revenue sharing arrangement with video producers, but fell on hard times after management trouble and lack of funding. It had raised a total of about $13 million in two rounds, from the likes of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Bessemer Venture Partners, Draper Richards and others.

Revver Almost Out Of Money, LiveUniverse Acquisition Deal Is Off

Rafat Ali — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 20:04:00 +0000

Revver, the online video sharing site based in Los Angeles, is almost out of money, after failing to secure more funding, we learned through sources. The company had an acquisition offer on the table, from Brad Greenspan’s LiveUniverse, from what we know, but now News.com reports that the deal never materialized.

Revver’s asking price is about half million dollars, as well as the assumption of the company’s debt, which is in the $1 million range, the story says. Revver was one of the early pioneers in the video sharing space, and was the first to offer an ad revenue sharing arrangement with video producers, but fell on hard times after management trouble and lack of funding. It had raised a total of about $13 million in two rounds, from the likes of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Bessemer Venture Partners, Draper Richards and others.

The potential LiveUniverse deal was first reported by Contentinople earlier this month, but was a bit premature.