MySpace to be sold for just £18 million?

MySpace close to being sold off
MySpace close to being sold off

MySpace looks set to be sold this week, with the social networking site to be bought for a fraction of the $580 million News Corp paid for it back in 2005.

News Corp had been hoping to get around $100 million for the site, but All Things Digital is reporting that this is way off the number that is likely to be agreed, which will be between $20 to $30 million (£12 to £18 million).

There are two companies vying for MySpace. Specific Media and Golden Gate Capital – the former being an advertising network and the latter a private equity firm.

Deal soon

News Corp is hoping that the sale will be completed by Thursday and it is thought that MySpace Music will be what the eventual buyers will focus their sights on.

According to All Things Digital, there is also an outside chance that the co-founders of MySpace may be interested in giving the site a much-needed kiss of life.

Both Tom Anderson (remember him? He wanted to be your friend so badly) and Chris DeWolfe could well come in with a last-minute bid.

Whatever the outcome, it is likely that MySpace will shed more jobs (rumours are that 150 will go) and become a much more streamlined affair.

Looks like the My [___] logo introduced earlier this year was a sign of the cost-cutting to come.

Marc Chacksfield

Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.