Myspace Execs Plan Exit Strategy, Look To Sell In 2011
It’s official, News Corp., the parent company to Myspace has announced that they will attempt to sell off the one-time social media darling sometime in the next year.
It was predicted that a sale may be imminent when yesterday Myspace announced that 47% of their global work staff (approx. 500 employees) had been laid off.
Myspace CEO Mike Jones has announced that the company will attempt to sell the failing company before it’s too late to salvage.
If a sale doesn’t occur, Myspace’s Rosabel Tao tells Bloomberg:
“News Corp. is assessing a number of possibilities including a sale, a merger and a spinout [sic]. The process has just started.”
The sale has become a more crucial strategy for News Corp. who has been forced to sign a new search revenue deal with Google that offers no guaranteed revenue from searches. Previously MySpace was guaranteed $900 million in search revenue.
The trimming of their staff and a new focus on entertainment could help News Corp. provide a more attractive, slimmed down product offering for potential suitors, however without search revenue guarantees and a shrinking user base they will more than likely see a loss on their original investment unless they can carve out their niche in a more structured manner.
Who do you think would make a good suitor for Myspace?