The rumors of a deal between eBay and StumbleUpon may soon become facts – the latest report indicates that the two companies are in “advanced talks.” And this news comes straight to you from “people familiar with the matter.”
New eBay-StumbleUpon Takeover Rumors Surface
It also comes courtesy of the Wall Street Journal. The mainstream press often runs a little behind in matters of eBusiness, but it still adds a measure of credibility to such stories. If you didn’t believe that eBay wanted to acquire StumbleUpon, now’s the time to change your mind.
“The potential price for a deal is in the range of $75 million,” the WSJ’s Vauhini Vara and Kevin J. Delaney reported, and that’s a much smaller range than has been previously given. Yet one of Vara’s and Delaney’s anonymous sources also said that “no final agreement has been reached and the talks could fall apart.”
Yeesh. That’s supposed to be one of the benefits of using an unnamed source – they don’t have to weigh their words quite as carefully.
Oh, well. As for identifiable folks within the industry, the majority seemed mildly skeptical of the news. “So, will it happen this time, or shall I just meet you back here in a month for the next rumor report?” asked Marketing Pilgrim’s Andy Beal.
Om Malik took an even more humorous angle when describing the Wall Street Journal’s article. “The report doesn’t add any specifics to the nearly three-week-old story,” he wrote, “though one can understand, Rupert Murdoch’s bid might have them a little distracted.”
