During what turned out to be a fascinating call, Rupert Murdoch knocked back the rumors about News Corp. offering $3 billion for Skype, slyly reminded people there were similar companies out there and started us on a hunt for the mysterious search company now in advanced talks with Fox Interactive Media.
Skype: Asked about telephony, Murdoch said caustically, “I could make some wild predictions about that,” adding that the report that News Corp. made an offer for Skype is a “total invention.” He said, “We’ve had conversations with them. They have made it perfectly clear, the founders, that they do not want to sell and we respect that. We’d be very happy to work with them in some way.” But, he said, any talks accept that the company is not for sale. “They’re not the only alternative.”
Search: The ideas have been flying fast and furious on the Rafat-Staci IM hotline since Murdoch mentioned that FIM is in advanced negotiations with a search company. InfoSpace — intriguing but would seem too expensive for a company that says it’s making modest purchases. Mamma.com brings more than search and shouldn’t be too costly. Snap.com did a $10 million round last month but could be a good fit. (Scout.com just got funding, too, and that didn’t stop them from joining FIM.) Blinkx.tv could be a good multimedia search buy. IceRocket, smallish, hungry and does a lot of what FIM will need including multimedia. But IceRocket has Mark Cuban and may prefer to grow some more before selling. Technorati — don’t think it adds enough. Etc. More when we know it.
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