It’s been a little more than a month since the last rumors surfaced about social news site Digg trying to sell itself for at least $300 million.
A reliable source just confirmed the company’s plans, noting the company has hired Allen & Company, a tiny but influential private investment firm, to help broker a deal. The asking price is still $300 million, the source said.
This will come as no surprise. Rumors of a sale have been rampant for months, although until now we hear co-founder Jay Adelson has been trying to muster up interest in a sale. This is the first time Digg has hired a bank to shop the deal, we’re told.
Valleywag reported the $300 million rumor last month. Separately, it reported Digg chief executive Jay Adelson’s attendance at Allen & Company’s annual Sun Valley, Idaho get-together of the rich and famous, noting the company might be looking to find a buyer among one of the many media company executives in attendance.
Allen & Company traditionally uses the event to do what it terms “direct research” on potential buyers and sellers, then inserts itself as banker.
For more on the history of Digg rumors (including a suggestiong to “Hire A Banker. Sell This Thing, Already”), see Techcrunch’s post from last month.
We asked Digg founder Kevin Rose about a potential sale, and Allen & Company’s involvement. He told us, unsurprisingly, that “we never comment on things related to acquisitions.”
Tags: co:Digg, inv:Allen-&-Company, people:Jay-Adelson, people:Kevin-Rose26 Comments
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Eric Hunter said:
Google will purchase Digg.
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Mark Mayhew said:
I like digg, but they should have sold long ago.
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Derek said:
Digg is one of the, if not THE, most powerful marketing mainlines into the internet, and that’s after others like Reddit and Netscape’s failed foray had time to gain ground.
The sun still very much shines on Digg.
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Alex James | Freelance jobs & services said:
Yup agree that Digg is definitely still miles ahead of newer services; take the point on board that perhaps they could have sold some time ago, but should still be able to snap a good deal from one of the internet mega-players..
Alex J
Find freelance jobs today -
Vishal Sharma on Startups, Technolgy, Business Development said:
I have written previously and again i believe these are the top 5 players in hunting for digg.
http://www.sharmavishal.com/2006/10/top-5-probable-digg-buyers.html -
Marshall Sponder said:
It’s not the billion dollar valuation they were seeking last year, but it’s probably not a bad time to sell Digg since I don’t think the site is going to improve much more than it already has - and if anything - it will go down in time as it’s model is copied more and more.
I’d sell now - 300 Million in your hands is worth more than a Billion Dollars you’d never get.
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Gavin said:
It is the perfect time to sell Digg, seeing as other sites are encroaching on their territory, and they are extremely popular right now. Recent trends suggest Digg might be going down soon.
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Oprah said:
The dirty little secret about news sites is that they dont make any money so what is the value? Only a sucker would buy digg for $300 million. MSNBC just bought newsvine for like 5 million. Newroo was bought for 12 million. Newsbuzz was purchased for 5 million. You could buy congoo.com, brietbart.com or another news aggregator for like 10 million.
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OOM said:
Oprah made a very good note. What’s the value of any such website considering that the revenues they generate are roughly $50 mil. a year, if they reach 50… How can one properly assess the value of something that generates no money? Or should the buyers buy for fame and exposure rather than for making profits?
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peter said:
I heard that kevin, has started a website similar to digg, http://www.opentopix.com
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shortshire said:
If Digg is sold will it just become on jumbled mess of crap owned by giant corporations? This is a possiblity.
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Anime fan said:
That’s cool, these web 2.0 sites are really worth much right now.
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Ramon said:
Why are the sites worth 10 mi? because of the domain value, technology, brand, audience and still is profitable. They call this long-term / mid-term investment, it’s the basis of venture capitalism and the base for venture buyouts.
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jon said:
Thats a lot of money/!
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Bryan Burbank said:
I thing Digg is a great site because you get a lot of information from it but that seems like a lot of money. But I guess it gets a lot of people who use it so maybe it is worth that much.
thanks, Bryan
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sally said:
Digg I think will stay around as one of the top social networking sites because it is so easy to use and easy to navigate.
thanks so much
Mary
http://bestbargainsever.com -
Groovy Mann said:
Digg is a caricature of itself. Bored people clicking their boring mouses to make believe they’re somehow important.
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marina said:
Yes Digg is one of the biggest of its kind
thanks, Marina
7852-4445
http://116th.org -
sammy said:
I sue Digg a lot and think it is one of the best social sites around
http://findanotherjob.com -
derie said:
Web 2.0 seems the way to go wow
http://elovemagic.com -
Putonghua Course said:
Digg I think will stay around as one of the top social networking sites because it is so easy to use and easy to navigate.
But when I stand in front of you -
dogila said:
Digg is here to stay for sure
http://findadietplan.com -
sarah said:
Love Digg
http://bagdesigns.net -
James said:
digg is just great!! should sell for more!
70 Trackbacks
1:58 pm
Report: Digg Hires Investment Bank to Pursue Sale said:
[...] heard Digg might be up for sale, seeking a deal in the $300-400 million range. Today, VentureBeat reports that the company has taken things a step further, hiring investment firm Allen & Co. to help [...]
3:11 pm
Digg For Sale-- bub.blicio.us said:
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3:12 pm
Who will buy Digg? Anyone? Google? - - mathewingram.com/work said:
[...] those who want to mingle with those who want to sell. And now, Eric Eldon at Venture Beat says he has it confirmed from a highly-placed source that Digg is for sale and Allen & Co. is handling the [...]
3:32 pm
Digg Hires Bank - Wants To Sell - For Realz This Time! »TechAddress said:
[...] VentureBeat is reporting that Digg has hired a bank to help broker a deal to sell the company. They’ve brought in Allen & Company (no relation) and are seeking a minimum purchase of $300 million. It’s a good time for Digg to cash in, from what I can tell, they’ve already moved on to Revision3. When I hear CEO Jay Adelson speak, he seems to always focus on Revision3. [...]
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Продажей Digg.com займеться инвестиционная компания Allen & Co | vBorisov.ru - в поисках просветления.. said:
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6:16 pm
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[...] Digg might have lost it’s edge from it’s height in popularity over a year ago. It is reported on Venturebeat that a banker has been hired Allen & Co. to sell Digg. Does this mean Digg is giving [...]
9:27 pm
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[...] 是Digg把推文模式带到这个世界上来的,完全可以和Myspace的个人资料分享模式,和youtube的视频分享模式相媲美。现在Digg要售卖了,挂牌3亿美元。Digg已经把寻找买主的任务交给了投资公司Allen & Company。 [...]
10:36 pm
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[...] správa na VentureBeat. Pridaj na: vybrali.sme.sk, Jagg, Linkuj.cz, [...]
11:29 pm
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[...] הפופולרי Digg.com עומד להימכר. עכשיו זה תורו של VentureBeat, המספר כי האתר נהיה רציני בקשר למכירתו ואפילו שכר את שירותיו [...]
12:02 am
Digg For Sale | Eric Eldon | Voices | AllThingsD said:
[...] Read the rest of this post Print Sphere Comment Tagged: VentureBeat, Eric Eldon, Digg | permalink [...]
1:16 am
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[...] is for sale again, according to some “reliable source”. That’s nice. But who would buy [...]
2:09 am
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[...] VentureBeat: Digg for sale ($300 million). [...]
2:38 am
DIGG.com For Sale for $300 Million » Technology At Hand said:
[...] have seen at my feeds that Digg hires bank to handle their possible Sell of their site. Their has been some rumors that Digg is for Sale [...]
3:00 am
For Sale - Social Voting Site - $300 Million - Graphic Design Forum and Web Design Forum said:
[...] of Digg either being acquired or being shopped come up (see our November summary here). VentureBeat has word that Digg is getting serious about a sale and has hired Allen & Company to shop the site for [...]
4:19 am
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[...] thinking about the latest speculation about Digg being on the market, it struck me that one thing oddly missing from the high-tech landscape is the [...]
5:03 am
Digging for a Deal said:
[...] news site Digg is up for sale. VentureBeat first reported the story, claiming a reliable source confirmed the company’s plans. The source goes on to say that [...]
5:37 am
TechCrunchies - Internet Statistics, Numbers and figures » Digg for Sale said:
[...] might be looking to sell their social news [...]
6:17 am
Digg.com für 300 Millionen $ zu verkaufen said:
[...] Verkauf der erfolgreichen Social News Plattform Digg gibt es alle paar Monate mal wieder. Der Blog VentureBeat, der immer recht zuverlässlich ist, will jetzt aus verlässlicher Quelle gelernt haben, [...]
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Интернетные штучки » Digg готовиться к продаже? said:
[...] Techcrunch, и многие другие. Эрик Элдон из VentureBeat утверждает, что слухи имеют под собой почву и называет вероятную [...]
6:57 am
Digg hires bank, hoping to sell for 0 million | Code4DotNet said:
[...] Read more on VentureBeat. [...]
6:59 am
Digg Selling for $300 Million? said:
[...] As VentureBeat reports… [...]
1:00 pm
Profit Baron dot Com said:
[...] What if I was to say, you can own a large social bookmarking site for only $77/user or $300 Million. Would this interest you? My guess is probably not, but it seems that Digg are flaunting itself for sale for this figure according to VentureBeat. [...]
2:29 pm
Digg for Sale: Asking price $300M : Search Engine Gaze said:
[...] According to TechCrunch article rumors already started in Januray 2006 about the possible sale of Digg but now they have hired Allen & Company to do the job according to VentureBeat. [...]
3:55 pm
Digg idzie pod młotek za $300 milionów? at AntyWeb said:
[...] venturebeat.com dowiedział się z jak podaje sprawdzonego źródła, że plotki o sprzedaży Digg-a nabierają [...]
4:18 pm
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA « Daily Marauder said:
[...] The social news site Digg is said to have hired Allen & Company, the private investment firm, seeking to sell itself for at least $300 million. Rumors of a sale have been rampant for months. Digg founder Kevin Rose says: “We never comment on things related to acquisitions.” (http://venturebeat.com/2007/12/17/source-digg-hires-bank-hoping-to-sell-for-300-million-or-more 12/17) [...]
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[...] of Digg either being acquired or being shopped come up (see our November summary here). VentureBeat has word that Digg is getting serious about a sale and has hired Allen & Company to shop the site for [...]
1:38 am
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[...] in Google as soon as possible. This sounds a little Digg-ish, but as I see Digg.com going for a high sell, I can’t stop imagining Google with Digg features. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Google [...]
4:04 am
SheryTiger.Com : Digg For Sale - $300 Million said:
[...] Confirm - $300 Million and will be [...]
5:07 am
zero.gr » Rumors για πώληση του Digg! said:
[...] Τον τελευταίο καιρό να ψάχνουν αγοραστή σύμφωνα με το VentureBeat. Την δουλειά για την εξεύρεση του ενδιαφερόμενου [...]
11:43 am
Digg.com for Sale : $300 Million said:
[...] Venture Beat reports: A reliable source just confirmed the company’s plans, noting the company has hired Allen & Company, a tiny but influential private investment firm, to help broker a deal. The asking price is still $300 million, the source said. [...]
12:22 pm
Blog dahh net! said:
[...] seems that digg.com is for sale! A reliable source, according to Venturebeat, says that digg hired Allen & Company a tiny but influential private investment firm, to help [...]
12:26 pm
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[...] Эту новость опубликовал Эрик Элдон (Eric Eldon) на своём блоге: [...]
12:35 pm
December 19, 2007 | next media update said:
[...] Digg Hires Allen & Co to Explore Sale, Asking $300 Million VENTUREBEAT A reliable source just confirmed the company’s plans, noting the company has hired Allen & Company, a tiny but influential private investment firm, to help broker a deal. The asking price is still $300 million, the source said. This will come as no surprise. Rumors of a sale have been rampant for months, although until now we hear co-founder Jay Adelson has been trying to muster up interest in a sale. This is the first time Digg has hired a bank to shop the deal. Source> [...]
12:40 pm
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[...] (or impending) sale of the largest social bookmark brand, Digg, has picked up this week as VentureBeat and TechCrunch covered the news of Allen & Company’s engagement to shop the social media [...]
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[...] week that we’ve gotten about a popular consumer web site bringing in a bank. On Monday, we reported social news site Digg brought in the bank Allen & [...]
4:19 pm
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[...] week that we’ve gotten about a popular consumer web site bringing in a bank. On Monday, we reported social news site Digg brought in the bank Allen & [...]
12:01 pm
Why Digg would want to sell? | YugaTech | Philippine Technology News & Reviews said:
[...] months ago, the price tag was just $30 Million and Yahoo was thought to be the buyer. This week, everybody’s been talking about it again and the price tag is already a whooping $300 [...]
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[...] qualche giorno gira un rumor secondo cui Digg starebbe cercando un compratore, disposto a scucire 300 milioni di [...]
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[...] heard yet, Digg is for sale. And they haven’t just raised a for sale sign, they actually hired a private investment firm to shop around seeing if anyone is [...]
3:04 am
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[...] can have it for only $300 millions You can read about this rumor here on venturebeat, valleywag, or here to read the rumor history on Techcrunch. An interesting article written by [...]
6:00 am
Late breaking news said:
[...] heard yet, Digg is for sale. And they haven’t just raised a for sale sign, they actually hired a private investment firm to shop around seeing if anyone is [...]
6:37 am
Social Media: il radioso futuro delle social news | Stalkk.ed said:
[...] sarebbe in vendita per 300 milioni di dollari secondo VentureBeat, avendo incaricato una banca d’affari privata, la Allen & Company, di occuparsi della [...]
8:51 am
Randy Roedl On Wordpress Blogs said:
[...] heard yet, Digg is for sale. And they haven’t just raised a for sale sign, they actually hired a private investment firm to shop around seeing if anyone is [...]
10:37 am
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[...] Source: Digg hires bank, hoping to sell for $300 million or more [...]
12:44 pm
Personal blog of Josh Buckley said:
[...] pr). Then, earlier this week - a well reputed venture capital blog, venturebeat stated it had been confirmed by a reliable source. These rumours have been floating around for months, but it looks like things are starting to take [...]
6:36 pm
Dave Liu dot com / musings from the edge » Articles of the Day said:
[...] Source: Digg hires bank, hoping to sell for $300 million or more - It’s been a little more than a month since the last rumors surfaced about social news site Digg trying to sell itself for at least $300 million.A reliable source just confirmed the company’s plans, noting the company has hired Allen & Company, a tiny but influential private investment firm, to help broker a deal. The asking price is still $300 million, the source said. [...]
9:00 am
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[...] Venture Beat reports: A reliable source just confirmed the company’s plans, noting the company has hired Allen & Company, a tiny but influential private investment firm, to help broker a deal. The asking price is still $300 million, the source said. [...]
11:23 am
Worn Techblog » Blog Archive » Digg idzie pod młotek za $300 milionów? said:
[...] venturebeat.com dowiedział się z jak podaje sprawdzonego źródła, że plotki o sprzedaży Digg-a nabierają [...]
4:13 pm
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[...] Street Journal uses Digg and quickly segued into Digg being dead. Looks like they’ve even hired a company to try and sell Digg. It’s unfortunate they didn’t do that before the whole DVD code debacle happened. It [...]
3:00 am
Güncel Blog » Blog Arşivi » digg satılıyor(mu)? said:
[...] link paylaşım portalı, sosyal network oluşumu digg için işler iyi gitmiyor gibi. burada güvenilir kaynaktan alınan bilgilere göre digg için (en az) 300 milyon $ fiyat biçilmiş.digg google, yahoo için [...]
3:48 pm
VentureBeat » Holiday Roundup: Apple devices for store purchases? Digg, and more said:
[...] are in the works” but we’re sticking by our story – Earlier this month, a cwell-placed source told us that social news site Digg has hired a bank to help it sell itself for $300 million or more. [...]
9:53 am
Digg is for sale: Price is pegged at $300 Million | Digital Musings said:
[...] a month its come up in the open that Digg is has put up a price tag of $300 million and has hired Allen and Company which specializes in Media deals to find [...]
5:54 pm
VentureBeat » Plaxo also reportedly hires bank to help it sell itself said:
[...] banks to help them sell themselves — at least according to our sources — including social news site Digg and social network [...]
7:39 am
Rumor: Digg Enlists Bank for Pending $300 Million Sale | Calvin Harvey dot Com said:
[...] [Via Venture Beat] [...]
8:08 am
Digg News | Social News Watch said:
[...] up for sale in a recent interview with British Timesonline, despite several reports that they had secured the services of Allen & Company to help broker the deal and that some of the usual suspects were already kicking the tires. You [...]
1:20 am
Information Architects Japan » iA Notebook » Trendmap3 Countdown: Internet 2008 Predictions said:
[...] to be political on many fronts. Although we don’t know when—whether it’s when Digg gets sold to Newscorp, whether we realize what really happens to The Wall Street Journal, whether Google [...]
8:11 am
» digg satılıyor(mu)? Duymadim.com: Bunudamı duymadın? Araç Bilgisayar Bilim Donanım Fragmanlar Genel Komedi Magazin Müzik Mobil Oyunlar Son Dakika Spor Teknoloji Uzay Video Yazılım İnternet Yeni teknolojiler Yeni telefonlar yeni haberler said:
[...] link paylaşım portalı, sosyal network oluşumu digg için işler iyi gitmiyor gibi. burada güvenilir kaynaktan alınan bilgilere göre digg için (en az) 300 milyon $ fiyat biçilmiş. digg google, yahoo için [...]
12:44 pm
Wake up call for Kevin Rose said:
[...] search I have come across a new where Digg.com is expecting to sell the website at $300 million at VentureBeat, It is of much appreciation that Digg.com expects to get that much amount but seriously if that is [...]
12:50 pm
VentureBeat » Widget-maker Slide raises $50 million at $500 million valuation said:
[...] Slide would use the money to expand as well as buy other companies, Swisher says, and has hired investment bank Allen & Co. to help raise the round (the bank, among other things, is also helping Digg shop itself around). [...]
5:51 am
Got $300 Million? You could buy Digg.com (maybe) | adam.riggins said:
[...] A reliable source just confirmed the company’s plans, noting the company has hired Allen & Company, a tiny but influential private investment firm, to help broker a deal. The asking price is still $300 million, the source said. [Venture Beat] [...]
10:34 pm
VentureBeat » Digg faces revolt from top users as it tries to appeal to prospective purchasers said:
[...] subtext here is that San Francisco-based Digg is for sale, with an asking price of more than $300 million. It apparently wants to appeal to a broader [...]
11:06 pm
Web 2.0 Social Media Revolt: An open letter to Digg from Top Digg Users said:
[...] This comes at a tough time for Digg since they are eager to be purchased. [...]
12:35 am
VentureBeat » Digg joins DataPortability: Opening up to other sites, looking to sell said:
[...] Some more context: Digg is reportedly growing fast, with 2.7 million users today, up from the one million it claimed to have hit less than a year ago. The San Francisco company is also for sale (our coverage). [...]
4:48 pm
VentureBeat » Web companies raising lots of money, to make themselves recession-proof said:
[...] even is to try to sell, as I heard Bebo has considered. Last December, social news site Digg also hired Allen & Co. — but to shop itself around with an asking price of at least $300 [...]
2:00 pm
Trends: Secretive New York bank Allen & Co. gets into Silicon Valley media tech » VentureBeat said:
[...] Social news site Digg hired Allen & Co. to help it find an acquirer last December, minimum asking price $300 million (our coverage). [...]
7:00 am
Who owns Social Media? said:
[...] Digg hired Allen & Co. to “explore its options” which is how Investment Bankers say “for [...]
9:38 pm
December 19, 2007 | TechTV Update said:
[...] for the first time this year. The Kawasaki Rubik’s Cube Robot, and a video, below: VentureBeat claims the small but powerful media investment bank Allen & Company has been hired to make [...]