Wait…Friendster Still Exists?
“Tell me why you aren’t going to be the next Friendster.”
– Venture capitalist David L. Sze’s 2006 litmus test for entrepreneurs who claimed to have the next MySpace
Yes it does. And what’s more, the social networking pioneer will reportedly be sold to a buyer in Asia by the end of the month. Price: Somewhere around $100 million.
That’s the latest word from Reuters, which says investment bank Morgan Stanley has been hired to handle the sale. No word yet on the buyer, though China-based Tencent Holdings is evidently among the bidders.
A decent exit for the venture, which created the social networking market only to forfeit it to Myspace and Facebook. Certainly, $100 million is far better than the $30 million Google (GOOG) reportedly offered for Friendster a few years back.