The acquisition rumor train is running at full steam. We’ve got the really small deals going through ebay (see our post yesterday rounding up the recent ones), and lots of chatter about the largest independent web sites looking for $1 – $2 billion (see Facebook and YouTube). Even Napster, a public company with $100 million in the bank, is looking for love.
But there are lots of other deals being whispered about as well. Here’s a smattering of the rumors we’ve been hearing lately:
Zooomr: Founder Kristopher Tate has been saying for weeks that Zooomr is on the verge of a sale. Kodak may be the interested party. Estimated deal size? Less than $5 million. TechCrunch coverage here.
DoveTail: A new video sharing startup that has had some good coverage in the Wall Street Journal and GigaOm. Word on the street is that a deal is imminent, if not signed already. Hopefully we’ll have a chance to write a profile before the news hits.
Xuqa: Multiple sources are saying a sale of Xuqa, a social network that claims to be profitable, might be coming in the $30 million range. Sounds like the company has at least one firm offer and a couple of other bidders.
More on these if and when they develop.
Time Warner CEO just said “no way” to a billion dollars for YouTube and/or Facebook.
http://money.cn...oney_topstories
Send some of that money this way!
DoveTail: Great to hear some smaller internet video offerings being snapped up these days in askew of mega-deals with YouTube. Same with the Grouper acquisition a few weeks ago. As they say: “A rising tide lifts all boats.” Since Internet Video is such an uncertain business as it stands now, it makes sense that smaller deals will probably be preferable to suitors to keep the cash risk low.
http://digg.com...JAX_Coming_Soon!
mfoundry.com looking to get into bed with Nokia after a round of recent layoffs.
When is Zombo.com going to get acquired??
http://www.zombo.com
First. Christopher. Don’t open your moutn about an acquisition until it’s complete…
Second… don’t sell to Kodak….. are you crazy?! They’ll just crush it…..
Kevin
I cannot confirm nor deny that we are in talks with Kodak, though we are in aggressive talks with different companies.
Nothing has been solidified yet either way, so we’ll see what shakes out, but until then I’m hauling ass on refining and presenting new features.
We released ZMail today and we’ll be continuing to roll-out new community features constantly up-and-through mid October.
-Kristopher
I’d personally value Zoomr at more than $10+ million, Flickr, when acquired by Yahoo wasn’t even close to being as feature packed
As we have seen over and over, many times it isn’t the features that are valuable, it is the user base. Zoomr just can’t match the user base that flickr has developed… That is the only reason I stay with flickr even though it takes way to long for new features, everyone else I know is there.
XuQa definately deserves a sale IMO, if they are really profitable. The found a way to monetize a network besides just adding stuff to your hompie, ala CyWorld. THAT business model will only work in certain climates (read: Korean and Japan). Peanuts are huge. 30 mil though might be too much. I would think around 20+ is a better estimatation keeping in mind their user base.
I’ve never used Flickr… If I had to choose between Flickr or Zooomr, it would have to be Zooomr.
Zooomr has a lot features, but what do they really do for you? Sometimes it strikes me more as a programmer’s playground than as a great way to view photos. I know they are working hard at it, and have accomplished a lot of great things, but I find all the gadgets and gizmo’s get in the way of the experience.
Tony
To speak openly about or respond to speculation regarding aquisition talks is a mistake.
Should Zooomr rake in a speculated 1/5th of what Flickr made through the Yahoo deal I’m sure the crew there will be rolling their eyes for awhile. Flickr already caught up Z with the few “new” features they offered above their completely ripped-off service and is atleast a year ahead in every other department. Kristopher, if you nevertheless do make a killing, kudos
Zooomr.com
To successfully compete companies are either working together or buying each other out. Who is next?
Zooomr.com is the Zombo.com of photo sites.
“You can do anything with zombo.com”
Great Work XuQa…Have worked for XuQa thats why i no how much effort they have put in that .You guys deserved that seriously …Well for those who dont have any idea whose behind that well i must say they aint humans lols…They are robots who u can find 24/7 working …Take Murtaza Hussain( Murtiii in short ~~~i still dont understand why u have three i’s there )Anyways i havent seen this guy partying anytime …all he has been doing is XuQa nuffin else .Sometimes working sometimes just giving tension to the workers to speed up …i still remember his words “Man hurry up we gotaa upload today ” lols ………..Then Ali (mojo jojo
) …This guy is the sweetest person i ever met ….Prosper well wat should i say about u man ..U just rock ….Congrats all of u …and btw u guys have a long way to go 30 million will be converted into 300 million in no time 
….XuQa Rocks
Congrats Xuqa,
I had a chance to speak with Murtaza (During my Northeastern Days in Boston) and with Ali out in Cali during the tech crunch events. I’ve watched Xuqa take a “best of” in the industry and put their spin on it. THIS is how social networking gets better for the users. Props on the potential sale.
-B. Dixon
I agree Kevin – Kodak would be insane to buy Zooomr. I just look at it from the other side of the fence, though – is Zooomr worth it?
Plus, nothing kills an acquisition faster than loose lips. And lips seem to be overly loose right now.
I no longer believe any of these rumor buyout “news”.
Step 1: launch a start up
Step 2: Give tech blogs a sneak peak to build buzz
Step 3: Make announcements of profitability or huge membership growth (who’s double checking the figures?)
Step 4: Contact the blogs in Step 2 to spread rumors of a buyout in the millions
Step 5: Respond to the postings on these blogs with “I can’t confirm or deny” confirmations and testimonials.
Step 6: Wait to see if the buzz builds to the point that there is an actual offer.
Step 7: Repeat Step 1
Whats the deal with dovetail?
Kodak can build “zooomr-like” website for a fraction of acquisition cost.
There are just too many rumors out there those days, facebook/Youtube for 1 bill? How? and why?