Andre Yoskowitz
9 Jun 2011 23:10
According to a number of reports, an investor group has now become the front-runner in the bid for struggling social network MySpace.
News Corp, the current owner of the service, is looking to sell a majority stake by the end of the fiscal year, June 30th.
The group would take over full operational control and take an 80 percent ownership stake, leaving News Corp with the rest.
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick added that he had been approached to join the investor group but has not made a decision.
Outside of the investor group, the small social networks Tagged and myYearbook have also expressed interest.
News Corp. threw away $580 million in 2005 to purchase MySpace and has swiftly seen traffic, revenues and profits plummet.
From 2010 to 2011 alone, MySpace traffic fell 48 percent to 35 million unique U.S. visitors. The company had an operating loss of $165 million last year.