Currently burning up the blogosphere is the hot rumour that search giants Google are in final negotiations to acquire the user-driven, social content website Digg for “around $200 Million.”
Tech crunch reports that Google’s on/off negotiations with Digg have heated up in a big way over the last six weeks, and claims that “multiple sources inside and outside of Google” are saying that Google and Digg are just inches from delivering a salvo of backslaps, handshakes and high fives over the impeding deal.
The source says that the two companies have already inked a letter of intent and it’s only a matter of weeks – even days – before Digg becomes part of Google’s empire, with an acquisition price of around $200 million being bandied about.
Rebuttal?
This story has been bubbling under for several months, spurring Digg CEO Jay Adelson to issue a firm rebuttal on their site back in March.
But – ha ha! – it may have all been part of a cunning double bluff if the rumours of the current negotiations prove to be true.
Sources claim that all the major points of the deal have been agreed on, but there’s still a chance that the wheels could come off the Google wagon, with the possibility that Microsoft – who sniffed around the company a while ago – may come in with their own offer.
The Microsoft connection is an important one, as a huge chunk of Digg’s revenue comes from a three year advertising deal with Microsoft. If Digg decide to go with Google, this contract will be ripped up.
Not surprisingly, Digg’s most popular story at the time of writing was: Google In Negotiations To Acquire Digg For “Around $200M”