Blog search engine Technorati was days away from merging with blog network b5media when the whole deal blew up earlier this week, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.
Technorati has been searching for a new strategy ever since it appointed CEO Richard Jalichandra last October. It was recently trying to raise an additional round of financing, and pitching venture capitalists that it could turn itself into a blog advertising network and/or even pursue a blog roll-up strategy.
The talks with Toronto-based b5media (they’re big in Canada) indicate that it is taking the blog roll-up idea more seriously than we previously thought. If the merger with b5media had gone through, Technorati would have gained a network of 340 blogs. One of the slides in the pitch deck Technorati was showing potential investors (shown above) outlines how a roll-up strategy could be combined with an ad network. Technorati would use its search engine to promote owned-and-operated blogs. It would sell ads using its own sales force instead of third-party ad networks for an “immediate 30-50% revenue bump” and sell across its network.
According to our source, the deal with b5media never went through, though, because of personality conflicts between the CEOs and a lack of transparency on Technorati’s part during due diligence. At least that is how the b5media side sees it. Prior to its dalliance with Technorati, b5media was itself trying to raise another venture round that would put a $20 million valuation on the company. But there were no takers. So b5media started talking to potential merger partners or acquirers (including at one point Federated Media Publishing). A combination with Technorati could have made both Technorati and b5media more appealing to later-stage venture investors. But now the two need to keep looking for other options before their time (and cash) runs out.
I guess if you wait a little longer TC could buy both in a firesale. Not that either has any real value add. I still think you should employ 1938media as your video guy instead.
First of all, Technorati sucks and everyone should boycott them now! Why? Take a look at any of your posts and you will see that they make your actual working link a very hard to read light grey color. They try to fool people with blue links that do nothing but give them more page views and more advertising revenue while you don’t get a penny.
Technorati is nothing more than a sleazy scraper site with a thin layer of icing on top.
So two companies talked about merging and decided not to do it. What part qualifies as “blowing up”?
WT!!… so my source was right.. i just failed to write this one.. he also told me that .. they are now looking for possible buyers for b5… mmm..
Technorati should turn to Russian private equity investors who could provide growth money. Take, for example, LiveJournal acquisition.
That story is interesting for a lot of reasons
“Technorati would use its search engine to promote owned-and-operated blogs”
This would do wonders for its credibility.
it makes sense
Where did that ‘Roll Up Strategy’ slide come from? Good stuff.
很好的site
You might want to put a disclaimer that Duncan Riley was a partner/vp for b5media at one point in the past. I’m just sayin not trying to stir a pot.
Anyone else agree that that slide was not put together by a sane or intelligent man?
Wow, double arbitrage! That’s right, in the technorati world of M+A, 2+2=5 (at least where pre and post acquisition valuation is concerned). Never mind the fact that most mergers and up DESTROYING shareholder value – this one will be different (despite the lack of overlap between the two parties) – our CEO’s got roll-up *experience*, yo!
These companies are worthless… they missed bubble 2.0 cashout.
If nothing else, this serves as a reminder of how one should NOT put a ppt presentation together. What is the purpose of the speaker when the audience can simply read the entire presentation?
The CEO of Technorati should hunt down the person that leaked this highly confidential slide to a blog site.
Shane
I didn’t touch the story, not sure what there is to disclose or why a disclosure would be relevant. For the record though I was a founder of the company.
Not that it matters what i think, but Duncan, a disclosure is probably appropriate, given that the story sounds as if it comes from “b5’s” side of the story and paints technorati in a less than flattering light (which it deserves.)
They certainly have a Powerpoint problem. This is not a presentation, but a document.
Oops, sorry, #14 @Jake has already said that…
Eh? Since when did Erick Schonfeld = Duncan Riley.
Do people not read WHO writes these stories? Or is everyone so fixated on puppets that they think there’s some kind of conflict here?
360 bloggers, that’s it? we opened up for private beta only a couple weeks ago and have roughly 100 sites already.
That’s a slow news day story if i ever saw one…Secret Merge Talks…who called in the favor to get THAT headline…
@Todd, those are 360 bloggers they sell ads for, they own those blogs.
todd
the number of sites matters not if there is no real reach and quality content
@jenkins, was probably leaked from b5’s side, since the discussion at the end of the article came from them ‘according to b5′. It’s routine for one company to send pwrpoints to another company detailing the loveliness of their marriage during acquisition talks.
@simon, gotcha, didn’t realize they own all of those blogs. Why don’t they sell for other bloggers too?
@dotw, indeed number of sites doesn’t matter. When I checked out a bunch of their sites they were filled with adsense, didn’t seem to get too much traffic and seemed crappy in general.
let the flames come my way for trashing their blogs… maybe I just happened to click on all the wrong ones
Sorry Duncan not trying to ruffle any feathers. Your past dealings was probably not worth mentioning.
@Andy Merritt: Of course I know who wrote the story! My point behind my comment is that Techcrunch is probably the best bite/blog on the internet and they always seem to disclose any percieved conflicts of interest. Take for example when they do stories on Federated Media they always disclose their relationship with Federated. I basically just trying to point out something either a) Eric (the writer) did not know or b) something they (Techcrunch) forgot to put in the post. Duncan is a really good person who found some stories for me a long time ago when I started out blogging way back when he owned the BlogHerald. So any no way shape or form am I trying to make Duncan, Michael, Eric or any other Techcrunch personnel look bad.
@Todd, I’m guessing that’s what this partnership was trying to do. Although I think they understand that there is enough competition in the blogging selling market already. On blog quality ever head of ProBlogger.net?
@simon, yeah, problogger is sweet. Not trying to get into a pissing match, but that’s 1 of 360
Todd is completely right. They are network of miserable no traffic blogs. The only stars are Problogger and Copyblogger and (amazingly) they don’t own either of those sites.
17
although I know where the story came from and had first call on it, I handed it to Erick because of the disclosure issue, if anything I couldn’t have been more ethical about (in not writing it up…others wouldn’t have handed it off) so again I don’t see why disclosure was required. Besides, if I had a final influence on this post it wouldn’t be slanted towards b5, trust me
I just love it when my intuition is right. I saw the handwriting on the wall about b5 last year.
Seriously, it’s a shame because they have some good people working there. Just a bit challenged at the moment…as can happen to us all.
*sigh* Poor Jeremy.
I went to a b5media site blog once and it has zero soul or content on it?
Is it really just a dump for adsense spam?
Speaking as a b5 blogger (no, I won’t say who I am), I can say that most of our money is spent sending Jeremy Wright to every conference he can possibly sign up for. It would be better spent designing blog templates that don’t look like 1995, supporting bloggers with better editors, and and basically giving more support to the top blogs, rather than constantly bringing in more half-ass blogs on super-niche topics.
well anon, since you’re unhappy, sign up at BuySellAds.com
Anon – contact me at matt at bryghtpath dot com if you could – I have some followup questions for a story we’re running tomorrow.
Thanks!
m
33
As another b5 blogger, I don’t know if you are the real deal. b5 bloggers do not make such *brainless* comments.
It’s “brainless” to have an opinion, Buny? You’re kidding, right? Oh, I forgot – we’re not supposed to have anything negative or critical to say about b5, because god forbid anything gets actually fixed around there. Just keep kissing up to the upper management and slave away in the blog sweat factory, Buny…..one day you’ll see what I mean.
anon
If you think it’s a sweat shop, u might as well quit, obviously u don’t have the passion for blogging, not even for yourself. I have been in b5 for 2 years and b5 is still the best blog network around.
I wish you good luck in kissing yourself.
“I wish you good luck in kissing yourself.”
Great way to end it. And as far as “passion for blogging”, screw that. I have a passion for getting paid for my efforts without all the bullshit.
Have a nice day and good luck.
anon
you might as well quit blogging altogether and getting paid for your efforts somewhere else then.
HeHe, Matt Craven – you sure know how to sniff out a story – man, if I was still at TBH I’d be all over this angle.
Strange. B5Media.com looks like a spam site. It has much less weight than Technorati. How come they merge? Did Technorati want to acquire B5Media with stock option only?
I’m sure they would have better editors, or at least more dedicated editors, if they would pay them more than the equivalent of minimum wage for their effort. Of course, the bloggers get paid at an even worse rate for their labour.