March 14, 2008

AOL to buy BeBo

America’s favourite internet service provider AOL is looking to buy the social networking site, Bebo for a figure of $850 million. This will give AOL access to the forty million or so members of the site. But Bebo is one of the largest social networking sites in the UK and will offer a buyer a good solid base to launch other services from.

Bebo is ranked number one in the UK, Ireland, New Zealand and is estimated to be sitting comfortably in the number three spot in the US, with offices employing around a hundred staff in the UK and the USA. But it is difficult to see what AOL who is part of Time Warner is going to do with this acquisition.

The only real expansion prospects for Bebo, would be launching in other countries, this would then give AOL the opportunity to expand their own operations within the social networking scene and work on how they can make money through advertising and subscriptions.

Source [MSNBC]