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AOL to Pay $850M for Social Network Bebo
http://www.giblink.com/gibnews/articles/1294/1/AOL-to-Pay-850M-for-Social-Network-Bebo/Page1.html
Doug Perry
Doug Perry, former Marketing Director of http://HDTrader.com. The number one niche classified site for Harley-Davidson motorcycle sellers, buyers, and dealers joined the gibLink team in January. Doug was the sole force to take a non-revenue generating project site to over a million dollars a year in under four years. Doug was also involved in the startup website http://BikerorNot.com, a social network for bikers. Now hosting over 40,000 profiles in its network and hosting a top traffic ranking.  
By Doug Perry
Published on 04/10/2008
 


NEW YORK (AP) — AOL said Thursday it will pay $850 million to acquire the online hangout Bebo, giving the struggling Internet company a foothold in an expanding business.

Bebo is one of the largest social networks in Britain, is ranked No. 1 in Ireland and New Zealand and has a global membership of more than 40 million, according to AOL. In the United States, however, it ranks third behind MySpace and Facebook.

Ron Grant, AOL's president and chief operating officer, said the deal should help AOL expand internationally and Bebo grow in the United States. The all-cash deal, expected to close in a month, also should give AOL an engaged audience from which it can generate additional advertising revenue.