By Kevin McCauley
Rupert Murdoch has unloaded Myspace to Specific Media, an advertising network for $35M, far below the $100M target that News Corp had hoped for, according to a report on AllThingsD.
The deal includes halving the number of Myspace’s 400 staffers and other cost cuts.
News Corp acquired Myspace for $580 in 2005 and raced to get its Internet albatross off the books before the beginning of its new fiscal year on July 1.
Myspace CEO Mike Jones plans to oversee the restructuring and will transition to Specific and then exit in two months. “While I regret we won’t be working together at Myspace any longer, I am very proud of the work we have done here and believe we have performed with excellence — even under extremely difficult circumstances,” he wrote in a memo to staffers.
Tim Vanderhook, CEO of Specific, called Myspace a “recognized leader that has pioneered the social media space. The company has transformed the ways in which audiences discover, consume and engage with content online.”
Vanderhook and his brothers Chris and Russell founded Los Angeles-based Specific in 1999. It helps marketers buy ads across web, video, mobile and TV platforms.
News Corp is getting a less than five percent stake in Specific in the transaction. |