CommunityConnect RadioOne Deal Details

Here is what I am hearing on this acquisition from someone privy to the details:

BlackPlanet.com
- Revenue: $20 million top line – flat growth
- EBITDA: $1 to 2 million
- Price: Sold for $38 million but there were some other adjustments taking the proceeds north of $40 million

With the recent hefty (understatement) price tag AOL paid for Bebo ($850 million) and given Hi5’s latest valuation, I expected CommunityConnect to be worth much much more than $40-50 million. Then again, their huge overhead (a staff of 100?!), low EBITDA and flat growth probably resulted in a lower valuation. Plus, the only site really worth anything in their portfolio of sites RadioOne is BlackPlanet.com.

Spark Off The Market?

I just heard a rumor that the Spark auction has been pulled. Bids were supposedly at a nice premium to the stock price: over 10x LTM EBITDA. This is good news for dating site operators who are considering shopping themselves in the near future.

Assuming that this is true, I wonder why the sudden change of heart?