Update: So, it’s official, eBay has bought StumbleUpon for $75 million. Here’s the release.
eBay, the San Jose, Calif.-based auction giant is likely to announce its acquisition of Stumble Upon after the close to markets today, according to informed sources. The news of a pending deal was first reported back in April 2007. The acquisition price is said to be $75 million. StumbleUpon has raised close to $1.5 million in seed financing
The rationale behind the deal will emerge in time. There have been some who have disagreed with my hypothesis on why eBay wanted to buy StumbleUpon, a social book marking discovery service.
By marrying the toolbar to Skype client, eBay can do an end run around Google’s dominance of the search business. A simple search box inside Skype client is all it would take. It is not that far fetched: Skype has been slowly integrating various different services (including PayPal) into its client, and slowly becoming eBay’s desktop backdoor.
Our readers and others around the web furiously debated this theory, and offered alternative views.
TechCrunch is reporting on the pending announcement as well.
20 comments so far
10:40 AM PT
Om, eBay is based in San Jose. http://pages.ebay.com/aboutebay/contact.html
11:50 AM PT
Great scoop and very sound hypothesis! Now, let’s see if the price is right.
FYI, Greg Isaac’s blog’s down.
12:14 PM PT
Stumble is a great service, I use it myself.
12:30 PM PT
http://developers.facebook.com/toolbar/ is a similar development in keeping their 24 million users away from that ubiquitous google search box… fbook search sucks though - for now.
12:31 PM PT
I haven’t seen the appeal of SU, really. Maybe it’s time to give it another try.
2:26 PM PT
Bunch of stuff today…
Congrats to Garrett, Justin, Geoff, David and the rest of the StumbleUpon team on their sale to eBay. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my association and involvement with the company - and look forward to seeing how eBay harnesses the power of
4:31 PM PT
[...] http://gigaom.com/2007/05/30/ebay-to-announce-stumbleupon-buy-today/ eBay, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based auction giant is likely to announce its acquisition of Stumble Upon after the close to markets today (tags: ebay stumbleupon acquisitions rumor) [...]
7:27 PM PT
[...] GigaOM eBay to announce StumbleUpon buy today « The acquisition price is said to be $75 million. StumbleUpon has raised close to $1.5 million in seed financing (tags: eBay stumbleupon) [...]
11:40 PM PT
It’d be interesting if eBay purchased it on eBay.
2:06 AM PT
This deal may actually may make a lot more sense than it seems, even the pricing. The key is looking at it more in terms of marketing contribution (in consideration of what eBay spends) and not as a revenue contributor. Some may agree, or disagree, but I’ve written a detailed look at the valuation on my own site http://www.metue.com . It’s not really in the markets I tend to cover but those interested can find it here. Kudos to those here who broke the news.
6:35 AM PT
[...] TechCrunch and GigaOM predicted yesterday the StumbleUpon purchase would be completed, and were proved [...]
1:07 AM PT
[...] Why eBay bought StumbleUpon [Om Malik] By marrying the toolbar to Skype client, eBay can do an end run around Google’s dominance of the search business. A simple search box inside Skype client is all it would take. It is not that far fetched: Skype has been slowly integrating various different services (including PayPal) into its client, and slowly becoming eBay’s desktop backdoor. [...]
10:37 AM PT
[...] According to Om Malik, eBay paid $75 million for StumbleUpon. Related Postscoffeebsd Wins Laptop Auction, Over $3450 [...]
11:57 PM PT
Sramana Mitra, writes a series of articles on eBay’s acquisitions.Sramana also analyzes e-bays strategy. Read more eBay’s Forays Into Media.
11:58 PM PT
http://sramanamitra.com/blog/900
2:56 PM PT
[...] They guys blog about the sale here, Michael Arrington and Om Malik share their thoughts here and here. I’d like to thank fellow StumbleUpon board member Ariel Poler, Brad O’Neill, and [...]
9:00 PM PT
[...] Web service, is doing something pretty cool. No, it’s not going to earn back the $75 million eBay (EBAY) paid for it. But it’s going to start overlaying the information its members have provided about a [...]
8:19 PM PT
[...] и рекомендовать сайты. Пресс-релиз | TechCrunch | GigaOm | Mashable | [...]
12:37 PM PT
[...] than you think. Think Don Quixote. Author Paul Coelho (The Alchemist). Founder Garrett Camp of StumbleUpon. All three characters travelled the world, but ultimately found treasure mere yards from their [...]
8:07 AM PT
[...] site discovery engine, allowing users to stumble across new web sites. Press Release | TechCrunch | GigaOm | Mashable | [...]
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