Crenk

Buzznet have been definitely on a buying spree lately, especially after obtaining $25 million in funding from companies such as Universal. Previously, Buzznet purchased Stereogum, Idolator, Qloud and started Videogum. This time they have purchased another music site, Absolutepunk.net.

Personally, im not too sure about the approach of Buzznet. Buzznet are trying to position themselves as the one stop music destination. Instead of maximising their own site first, they have received funding and are trying to buy marketshare. Why not simply find a better monetization strategy then just Google Adsense!! Im sure Buzznet will not be receiving a high click through rate with Adsense, so why not try to find a premium CPM based network instead?

Well im sure that everyone has already heard, but if not Microsoft has today withdrawn their proposal to acquire Yahoo! Yahoo have issued a press release and Roy Bostock, Chairman of Yahoo! Inc., issued the following statement today in response to Microsoft Corporation’s announcement that it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire Yahoo!:

“We remain focused on maximizing shareholder value and pursuing strategic opportunities that position Yahoo! for success and leadership in its markets. From the beginning of this process, our independent board and our management have been steadfast in our belief that Microsoft’s offer undervalued the company and we are pleased that so many of our shareholders joined us in expressing that view. Yahoo! is profitable, growing, and executing well on its strategic plan to capture the large opportunities in the relatively young online advertising market. Our solid results for the first quarter of 2008 and increased full year 2008 operating cash flow outlook reflect the progress the company is making. Today, Yahoo! has:

– a refined strategic focus to drive enhanced volume and yield;

– reorganized to focus its efforts on its most promising products and services;

– invested in innovations designed to revolutionize display advertising and facilitate closing the competitive gap in search; and

– enhanced expense and resource management to support improved profitability.”

Here are also some of the thoughts from around the web:

• Techcrunch
• Venturebeat
• News.com
• Centernetworks

AOL has acquired Sphere. Sphere is a technology that increases the relevant articles, blog posts and content to websites, via their widget. Sphere will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL, the company said in a statement, part of the programming division led by Executive Vice President Bill Wilson. AOL–along with Newsweek, Time, Reuters, GigaOM, The Wall Street Journal, and other sites–already was a Sphere partner.

This is a very interesting acquisition, because the Sphere technology can be very useful for the larger conglomerates and because Google and Yahoo already have this kind of technology, that only left AOL and possibly Amazon left. The deal im sure will see more AOL content floating across it, while AOL will also be using the technology in amongst their services and finally, Platform-A will have some more ad inventory to sell.

The soap opera that is Microsoft bid for Yahoo is continuing. Firstly it is reported by the WSJ that Yahoo is closing in on a merger with AOL. If the deal goes through, the two companies would combine their web and internet based services. Yahoo! would reportedly use some of the revenue from a merger with Time Warner/AOL to buy back a whole bunch of stock which woudl help the company fend off any further unwanted advances from Microsoft.

While at the same time it is reported that Yahoo has begun testing out Search Ads from Google. Then Microsoft hit back with the following statement about the search testing:

From Brad Smith, Microsoft’s General Counsel:

“Any definitive agreement between Yahoo! and Google would consolidate over 90% of the search advertising market in Google’s hands. This would make the market far less competitive, in sharp contrast to our own proposal to acquire Yahoo! We will assess closely all of our options. Our proposal remains the only alternative put forward that offers Yahoo! shareholders full and fair value for their shares, gives every shareholder a vote on the future of the company, and enhances choice for content creators, advertisers, and consumers.”

Well, what can I see happening? I expect that AOL and Yahoo will potentially merge, but this it might happen in about 6 months time. In terms of search advertising between Google and Yahoo, im sure this cant continue because of the amount of marketshare they will have between them. Finally, Microsoft have no chance of purchasing Yahoo, I cant see it happening because Yahoo shareholders and directors would have already agreed if there was something that was going to happen.

More news from around the world.

Seesmic which claims to be the Twitter for video has just acquired Twhirl. Although Seesmic is still in Alpha this seems to be a good purchase on the outside. Twhirl is one of the most popular Adobe AIR apps and allows users to post to their Twitter, Jaiku and Pownce accounts. This is the first acquisition ever of a pure AIR application and im sure it wont be the last.

For other coverage on this acquisition take a look at BlogHerald and Mashable. Im also interested to see what Arrington has to say about the acquisition, because he is an investor in Seesmic, however Mark Hendrickson did the review for Techcrunch of the story.

paidContent.org have reported that Buzznet has raised $25 million in a third round of funding. Additionally, it was learned that Universal Music-owned Interscope has invested a few million in it. It hasnt been confirmed who the other investors are, but im guessing some of the funding would have come from previous investors such as Redpoint Ventures and Anthem Venture Partners.

Also, recently, investors Bob Pittman, of the Pilot Group and Sling Media’s Jason Hirschhorn traded their equity stakes in the influential indie music blog Stereogum for an ownership percentage of BuzzNet. Thus, it has been confirmed that Stereogum is now fully owned by Buzznet. Today it has also be reported that Buzznet has now acquired Qloud. Has this new $25 million gone to the acquisition or has it been raised to make Buzznet more like mainstream media.

LiveWire Mobile has acquire another mobile music service provider Groove Mobile for $14.5 million.

Groove Mobile powers the mobile music stores of such wireless operators as Sprint in the U.S., as well as Bell Mobility in Canada and 3 UK. LiveWire Mobile is a division of NMS Communications, which provides mobile personalization and content services to various carrier partners. According to the press release announcing the acquisition, Groove Mobile made $7.4 million in revenue last year operating the mobile music services for 12 wireless operators. That is not many download sales at all!

The acquisition allows LiveWire mobile to offer full song downloads along with ringtones and videos. However it also provides some insight into the state of the mobile music industry, still and industry that is currently underutilised and not on the rise.

AOL has announced this morning that they have acquired social networking service Bebo for $850 million in cash. Bebo is the third-largest social networking service in the U.S. behind MySpace and Facebook. Why has AOL done this? One reason is that the soon to be Platform-A will have a huge amount of inventory to sell. AOL has made a big step forward in targeting the youth demographic that use Bebo. 

Bebo claims over 40 million members and is one of the leading social networks in the UK, and is ranked number one in Ireland and New Zealand, and number three in the U.S. Its users are heavily engaged and view an average of 78 pages per usage day. Together with its AIM and ICQ personal communications network, the acquisition will give AOL a premier position in the fast growing world of social media with a network of approximately 80 million unique users.

A couple of weeks ago we reported that Faces.com (Australian based social network) headed to the dead pool.  Today, we’ve learned that the assets of the company have been acquired by 3BILL, the UK-based mobile content company that now appears to be moving into the social realm. According to 3BILL, the plan is to integrate these recent acquisitions into one community and re-launch later this year, presumably under the premium Faces.com name.

This has to be the biggest news since the Microsoft bid for Yahoo. Digg is still up for sale and Techcrunch reports that they are close to finding a buyer. If you dont already know, investment bank Allen & Co have been shopping around on Digg’s behalf to find a potential buyer. A source very close to the deal mentions that four companies are in heavy due diligence with Digg - two media/news companies, and two big Internet companies - Google and Microsoft. And Google and Microsoft are on the verge of making their bids.

Originally, Digg was looking for a price tag of around $300 million, but it is reported that Google are likely to bid approximately $200 million for Digg. Microsoft however will be offering a figure lower that the $200 million, solely because they already have a three year advertising deal with Digg.

Even at $200 million is Digg overpriced? I think it is. Digg has received a lot of rewards for their technology and product, but the community is the key. If Digg is bought by Microsoft will the community continue to use the product with the same intensity as they current do? I think not.

So far Digg has only raised $11.3 million in funding, so this will be a great out for Kevin Rose and friends.