Fox Dumps Non-MySpace Intermix Pieces
One of the people behind the original deal that placed MySpace in the Fox Interactive Media collection of websites has reacquired most of the parts of Intermix from MySpace's new ownership.
Richard Rosenblatt, the mastermind behind the $580 million sale of Intermix to Fox, purchased back most of the Intermix pieces via his firm, Demand Media. This runs counter to Fox's contentions that all of the pieces would be unified.
Staci Kramer at PaidContent disclosed the revelation that Demand Media picked up a number of assets it owned before Fox shelled out for Intermix. Although the price had been criticized, MySpace inked a deal with Google that will send $900 million its way in exchange for search and advertising rights.
Kramer noted how Demand Media ended up with Social Labs LLC, the former Intermix subsidiary that owned MySpace; twenty "web assets" including assorted websites like Grab.com; and a lead generator at Focalex.com.
Fox is keeping some of the Grab.com technology, which is being used to power the social networking aspects of properties like FoxSports.com and AmericanIdol.com. But Demand Media has a license to the Grab.com code as part of its deal.
Not everyone was surprised by this new deal. Andrew Teman blogged this was the "least shocking deal ever." The former Focalex worker considers that component "the most under-rated" of the repurchase.
And what about the contentious relationship between Intermix and its former CEO? Ashkan Karbasfrooshan wrote at HipMojo that "Somewhere, Intermix founder Brad Greenspan is foaming at the mouth." Greenspan has previous sued over the MySpace deal, claiming it was undervalued.
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Tags: Fox, MySpace, Intermix, Demand Media, Richard Rosenblatt
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