Myspace Sold To Specific Media For $35 Million (UPDATE)

UPDATE: Myspace CEO Mike Jones released a company-wide email and press release announcing the social network's sale to Specific Media.

"Specific Media, a digital media company, today announced it has acquired Myspace from News Corporation," the release reads. "As part of the agreement, News Corporation will take a minority equity stake in Specific Media. Additional terms of the agreement are confidential and will not be disclosed."

In his email, Jones confirmed earlier rumors that layoffs would occur at Myspace this week. Wrote Jones, "In conjunction with the deal, we are conducting a series of restructuring initiatives, including a significant reduction in our workforce."

Visit TechCrunch to read the full release.
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PREVIOUSLY: According to Kara Swisher of All Things D, Myspace will reportedly be sold for $35 million dollars.

"Sources close to the situation said the deal is being completed today, although has not been officially signed. Myspace's owner, News Corp. is holding onto a very small stake of five to 10 percent," writes Swisher.

The sources also said that Specific Media, a digital ad network that helps sells targeted advertising space to marketers, cast the winning bid for the fallen social network, which News Corp. had previously hoped to unload for $100 million.

The Wall Street Journal reports that, by Wednesday, Golden Gate Capitol was the only prospective buyer.

"A Myspace deal would give the company [Specific Media] access to data about Myspace users to be used for ad targeting," writes the Journal. "It also would transform the firm into a media company with its own ad space to sell instead of simply an online ad technology firm that brokers ad space on behalf of other websites."

The deal may also require Myspace to lay off half of its remaining workforce, which numbers around 400.

Check out the slideshow (below) to see the history of Myspace since 2003.

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August 2003: Myspace Founded

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Myspace was founded in August 2003 by employees of eUniverse, an internet marketing company (later known as Intermix Media), after they saw potential in Friendster's concept. Chris DeWolfe, Brad Greenspan, Tom Anderson and Josh Berman all worked on the project. Anderson would later become president and DeWolfe would become CEO. In this July 2005 photo, Anderson, left, is seen with DeWolfe.

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Myspace was founded in August 2003 by employees of eUniverse, an internet marketing company (later known as Intermix Media), after they saw potential in Friendster's concept. Chris DeWolfe, Brad Greenspan, Tom Anderson and Josh Berman all worked on the project. Anderson would later become president and DeWolfe would become CEO.

In this July 2005 photo, Anderson, left, is seen with DeWolfe.

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Comments

[Dadzilla]

12:05 PM on 07/06/2011

I used to visit one of the groups on Myspace, and they took it away. I looked in a couple of times and now haven't been back in months. If these guys have any smarts they wold bring groups back which Facebook doesn't have.

[MikeAlike]

11:20 AM on 07/01/2011

Myspace RUINED the music business after it was bought out in 2005. Originally the site was a safe haven for independent artists and musicians aside from general users. It was known fact prior to the first sell out in the underground that the site provided resource and refuge plus profit for artists like never before.It was silent and dominant, the major labels COULD not find or figure out where their business went until they caught wind of the rapidly embraced trend for artists to use Myspace to showcase, sell and integrate art/music. Then the majors who were losing business, bought the site and turned into a file sharing resource. Bad move for everyone. Bad bad move.

[Nor Cal Mom]

04:29 PM on 06/30/2011

I heard this morning on the Today show that Justin Timberlake is part of the crew that bought MySpace.

He's bringing MySpace back. Those boys at FB don't know how to act.

[Duane Hanes]

01:57 PM on 06/30/2011

Cheers to Specific Media for attempting to resuscitate MySpace. We need a healthly mix of competitive social networking sites to provide alternatives to the pubescent look and feel of Facebook. Hopefully MySpace will take up the banner of "minimally invasive social networking for adults."

[Blodo]

08:28 PM on 06/30/2011

Thanks, Duane. You've articulated a nagging feeling I've long had about Facebook.

[InfinteShibumi]

01:31 PM on 06/30/2011

The "Anti-Social Network"? Talk about piling it on...

[Blind WatchMan]

12:28 PM on 06/30/2011

Poor myspace

[markIDGCONNECT]

12:04 PM on 06/30/2011

MySpace is a great space for unknown musical talent to show case their work to the world. Sure, the networking aspect has been dwarfed by FB, but people seem to have short memories! Facebook is a more insular, friends + family orientated site. Myspace use to be a radical and exciting (and prurient, as the FB director who said he used it to pick up women suggests!) place, where strangers interconnected with one another.

Mark at http://ww.idgconnect.com/blog

[Nor Cal Mom]

04:26 PM on 06/30/2011

I really loved making my own page, too. It helped me learn some basic html.

[PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS]

11:38 AM on 06/30/2011

Who wants to lay odds on how quickly Zuckerberg will be reconsidering those insane offers for Facebook????????

[Blind WatchMan]

12:28 PM on 06/30/2011

Ten Years.

[wilray]

11:20 AM on 06/30/2011

This is probably the future of Groupon. They turned down a $6 billion offer from Google. Now there is LivingSocial, Facebook Deals, Amazon Local, and Goggle Offers is in beta. In two years, you'll probably be able to pick up Groupon for $35 mil.

[american-dolt]

11:18 AM on 06/30/2011

F' Social Networking. Facebook uses Face Recognition software on your photos and sells it off.

Anything these weasels can do they will, they are not Bright, they are Sick.

[PenguinLinux]

11:59 AM on 06/30/2011

"F' Social Networking­. Facebook uses Face Recognitio­n software on your photos and sells it off."

Source and proof?

[american-dolt]

12:14 PM on 06/30/2011

It wouldn't satisfy you.

[InfinteShibumi]

01:30 PM on 06/30/2011

http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2011/06/07/facebook-privacy-settings-facial-recognition-enabled/

[CaroleK1970]

10:28 AM on 06/30/2011

35 million down the drain

[cdfee]

10:26 AM on 06/30/2011

Myspace Sold http://tiny.cc/sqa5s

[cynicalmatt]

09:56 AM on 06/30/2011

Why would anyone buy this sinking ship?

[rikilii]

09:54 AM on 06/30/2011

I would have paid 36.  SUCKERS!!!!

[up4steam]

09:51 AM on 06/30/2011

What makes it worth anything? The name? The technology? I don't get it...