Whos Buying BlackPlanet?
We hear that Community Connect, which owns social networks BlackPlanet, MiGente, and AsianAvenue, is in “serious negotiations” to sell with an unnamed buyer. No word on price or other details. One guess on a potential suitor, courtesy a second tipster: Toronto’s Avid Life Media, “a network of targeted niche brands with highly engaged users.” If all goes well, the deal could be announced at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco later this month, we hear. (Investors “connected with” Avid Life Media bought HotOrNot for $20 million in February.) BlackPlanet attracted 2.1 million U.S. unique visitors in February, according to Compete. Hitwise says it was the no. 4 U.S. social networking site last year, behind News Corp.’s (NWS) MySpace, Facebook, and Bebo, recently purchased by AOL (TWX) for $850 million. Any more info? Post to the comments below, send us an email at tips@alleyinsider.com, or use our anonymous email form.
