Who Will Buy Facebook?
Last week billions of dollars changed hands in online related acquisitions. Anything that is worth buying is being bought. — The rumors that Yahoo is in talks to acquire Bebo for $1billion may have seen wild 2 years ago, but in today's online market compare favorably price wise.
Context & Ripple Effects
This piece lands mid-mania: TechCrunch reports that billions of dollars changed hands in online-related acquisitions last week alone, with buyers snapping up anything worth buying. The trigger here is the report that Yahoo is in talks to acquire Bebo for around $1 billion — a figure the outlet itself flags as one that would have looked wild two years ago but now reads as market rate. The Yahoo–Bebo talks remain unconfirmed rumor, though CNET News.com and HipMojo.com both picked the story up the same day, showing how fast these whispers travel.
First-order effects
- If the rumored Yahoo–Bebo talks are real, Yahoo gains an established international social network and Bebo loses its independence — the immediate question for both is whether a ~$1B price actually clears.
- Facebook sits at the center of the speculation precisely because it is still unsold while everything around it changes hands, putting direct pressure on its owners to name a price or a path.
Second-order effects
- Every confirmed deal in last week's spree resets the benchmark downward-relative-to-expectations: once a $1B tag for Bebo looks 'favorable,' the asking price for the next independent social property — Facebook chief among them — ratchets up accordingly.
- Buyers who hesitate face a shrinking pool: as the frenzy consumes the available targets, the cost of entering social late climbs with each closing.
Third-order effects
- If this pattern holds, social networking consolidates into a handful of large corporate owners, with scarcity — not revenue — setting valuations, exactly the dynamic TechCrunch describes when it calls yesterday's absurd prices today's bargains.
- An M&A market that reprices that fast invites correction: the same momentum logic that makes $1B seem reasonable makes the sector vulnerable when buyers stop believing anything worth buying is being bought.
The trend: Social networking assets are being repriced by scarcity as large buyers race to acquire independents before the pool runs dry.