YouTube tells potential buyers it won't sell itself for less than $1.5 billion

[mandy]

INTERNET upstart YouTube, the bane-du-jour of copyright holders everywhere, won't sell itself for anything less than $1.5 billion, The Post has learned.

But that number far exceeds the price top media execs appear willing to pay for a company many believe lacks a sustainable business model...

Potential suitors include Viacom, Disney, AOL, eBay, and News Corp., the parent company of The Post...

YouTube's stated business model is to "pursue advertising," but potential advertisers might be skittish considering industry estimates that roughly 90 percent of the content viewed on its site violates copyright laws...

full article: http://www.nypost.com/business/youtubes_...gustin.htm

[bargainbloodhound]

But that number far exceeds the price top media execs appear willing to pay for a company many believe lacks a sustainable business model...

Lacks a sustainable business model....hmmm, sounds exactly like Skype.  Since eBay already wasted $2.6 billion on Skype I'm sure it wouldn't have a problem wasting another $1.5+ billion on YouTube.  :

A News Corp (owner of MySpace) acquisition of YouTube would be interesting though...  :-\

[thentavius]

We're gonna party like it's 1999.

[stardust]

Only in America..........

[Kristijntje]

Billionaire investor Mark Cuban with some comments on YouTube:

Billionaire investor and dot-com veteran Mark Cuban had harsh words Thursday for YouTube, the online site that lets people share video clips, saying only a "moron" would purchase the wildly popular start-up.

Cuban, co-founder of HDNet and owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, also said YouTube would eventually be "sued into oblivion" because of copyright violations.

"They are just breaking the law," Cuban told a group of advertisers in New York. "The only reason it hasn't been sued yet is because there is nobody with big money to sue."...

full article: http://news.com.com/2100-1026_3-6121034.html

[mandy]

Only a 'moron' would buy YouTube

possible moron sighting

Google Reportedly Talking With YouTube

Internet search leader Google Inc. is in talks to acquire the popular online video site YouTube Inc. for about $1.6 billion in cash and stock, according to published reports.

Mountain View-based Google and San Mateo-based YouTube are still at a sensitive stage in the discussion, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported on their Web sites Friday, citing unnamed people familiar with the negotiations...

full article: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061006/google_youtube.html?.v=5

YouTube, the popular video-sharing Web site that has yet to celebrate its first anniversary -- or its first profit -- is quickly becoming the must-have prize for media and technology giants.

Google is in discussions to acquire YouTube for $1.6 billion, people involved in the talks said Friday. While the talks are in the early stages, and could fall apart, the size of Google's offer might push YouTube closer to a deal.

Other companies have also expressed interest and could swoop in with a higher offer. Microsoft, Yahoo, Viacom and News Corp., among others, have visited YouTube's headquarters in San Mateo in recent months to inquire about buying the company...

The frenzied hunt to acquire the next hot Internet property -- MySpace last year and now YouTube -- has become reminiscent of the first Internet boom as companies bid up prices of sites whose ability to generate profits is the subject of much debate...

full article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...GOOGLE.TMP

[stardust]

With respect to U-Tube owners?  Build a business.  Make it super-successful and super-desirable.  Sell for BIG bucks.  Retire with financial independence at age 30.  The American Dream in action!   

With respect to the prospective buyers?    They can afford it.

[regic]

[quote author=stardust link=topic=5230.msg26864#msg26864 date=1160214717]
With respect to U-Tube owners?  Build a business.  Make it super-successful and super-desirable.  Sell for BIG bucks.  Retire with financial independence at age 30.  The American Dream in action!   
[/quote]

I agree.  They started the company with the aim of selling it to the highest bidder.

[mandy]

Google has agreed to purchase online video phenomenon YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock, the companies announced Monday...

YouTube will operate independently, and the companies will work together on building new features for independent users as well as for aspiring directors, they said in a press release. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2006...

Google's heft gives YouTube more credibility in this emerging market for online video, said Josh Bernoff, an analyst with Forrester Research. "I think the combination of the greater potential to make deals and also the greater technical ability to solve copyright problems puts them in a much better position than YouTube is (in) by itself."...

All of that content requires search technology to make it easier to find exactly what users are looking for, and improving YouTube's search capabilities with Google's technology will be one of the first priorities of the merged organization. But Google also sees advertising possibilities in those numbers, said Sergey Brin, Google's co-founder and president of technology. "Video is a great medium for advertising," he said...

full article: http://news.com.com/Google+makes+video+p...tml?tag=nl

So it's settled: Eric Schmidt is a moron.
Only a couple of weeks ago tech bad boy Mark Cuban publicly questioned the intelligence of anyone who would buy YouTube.

When Cuban delivered his speech to a group of advertisers, he said the risk of getting sued was simply too high. All you need is one mean lawyer with a solid case to make life oh-so-difficult. And let's not forget--YouTube is a company that depends upon contributed video uploads for its survival.

To the delight on the Wall Street crowd, Google announced Monday it would pay $1.65 billion to buy YouTube. If there's litigation in the future, Google's not sweating. With its fabulously deep pockets, the company knows it has the wherewithal to defend itself against annoyance lawsuits for the next millennium. In the meantime, management believes there's a way to mesh search monetization with the leveraging of social networks...

full article: http://news.com.com/OK%2C+so+Eric+Schmid...tml?tag=nl