16Jan2008
Sun Microsystems Inc. today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire open-source software maker MySQL AB for $1 billion, beefing up the server maker’s database offerings with a company whose technology is used by some of the world’s biggest Web sites.
With millions of global deployments including Facebook, Google, Nokia, Baidu and China Mobile, MySQL will bring synergies to Sun that will change the landscape of the software industry by driving new adoption of MySQL’s open source database in more traditional applications and enterprises. The integration with Sun will greatly extend the commercial appeal of MySQL’s offerings and improve its value proposition with the addition of Sun’s global services organization. MySQL will also gain new distribution through Sun’s channels including its OEM relationships with Intel, IBM and Dell.
Who said the free software was not profitable?
10Jan2007
Recently we saw the acquisition of StudiVZ, an online german student community (facebook clone), bought by a german media giant. Now it’s turn for MyBlogLog that has been acquired by Yahoo!, as stated in MyBlogLog official blog. The unofficial numbers are around $10 million.
MyBlogLog is an online service that creates communities among blog readers who like to read the same blogs and so far it the latest step in the so-called Yahoo!’s “social media” expansion that began in 2005 with the acquisition of flickr, a photo sharing site, and continued with del.icio.us, a social bookmarking site, and Upcoming a calendaring site with, of course, capabilities to share events in the purest web2.0 style. Who comes next? Only time will tell.
4Jan2007
Congratulations! An online german social network focused on students relationships called StudiVZ has been acquired by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, a german publishing holding company.
According to Financial Times Deutschland, Holtzbrinck has paid €85 million (about $110 million) for a community of about one million users. That makes more than $110 per user!
Furthermore, the site is a shamelessly clone of Facebook, replicating not only their business model but also information architecture and design and graphical details proving that fast-cloning is still profitable in this new web2.0 bubble. What comes next? Only time will tell.