Xobni Walks Away From A Microsoft Deal
After negotiating over the past few weeks with Microsoft and signing a letter of intent to be acquired, e-mail startup Xobni has walked from the deal, according to a source close to the negotiations. The deal would have been a natural for Microsoft, which was offering to buy the two-year old startup for somewhere in the $20-million range. (The company has raised less than $5 million so far in venture capital from Khosla Ventures, Atomico, First Round Capital, Ron Conway, and Y Combinator).
But the deeper that Xobni got into the discussions, the less comfortable it felt about its eventual fate inside the Microsoft machine. The fear was that Xobni would end up nothing more than a feature of Outlook. Microsoft wanted the entire team to move up to Redmond, and was vague in its answers about what it had planned for that team, or the product. In the end, the body language just wasn’t there.
Xobni offers a plug-in for Outlook that makes it smarter and easier to use by giving you handy stats in a sidebar and showing you how your contacts are connected to each other. But the company has greater aspirations than to become a feature of Outlook, as its internal integration with Yahoo Mail suggests. The service is still in private beta, and is approaching 50,000 registered users.
Was Xobni crazy to walk away, or did it make the right move in the long run?
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Microsoft Says They’ll Pay More
Microsoft is leaking that they are willing to increase their Yahoo bid to as much as $33 per share, up from the original $31/share offer. That original offer, which included payment in Microsoft stock, has fallen in value to just $29.12/share.
This is a surprise since Microsoft has previously stated they wouldn’t increase their bid. Analysts largely expected them to either walk from the deal or go hostile.
$33 may not be enough to get Yahoo to move the knife away from their nose, however. The WSJ says they want $35 - $37.
The people say that it’s unclear what final approach Microsoft will take, but that discussions between the two companies have been stymied by a stark divide on price. Microsoft has said privately in recent days that it’s willing to offer as much as $32 or $33 a share, well above the $29.12-a-share value of its original cash-and-stock offer as of Tuesday’s market close, these people say. But major Yahoo shareholders have signaled they want in the range of $35 to $37 a share, with Yahoo’s management and board similarly shooting for an offer in the upper $30s, they add.
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Fort Worth’s natural gas rush
"If you don't have a gas well, GET ONE!" implores the billboard on the interstate through Fort Worth, Texas. And in this amiable community (where, as it happens, I make my home), many neighborhoods are getting a gas well - whether they like it or not.
Meebo Closes Big Funding Round
Web chat startup Meebo has closed the funding round they’ve been working on with investment bank Montgomery & Co., a source tells us. Expect an announcement shortly.
The best information we’ve been able to gather says the company raised $20 million or so on a $200 million valuation. Earlier this month they abandoned efforts to sell the company, focusing instead on raising money.
Meebo was negotiating with strategic partners to join the funding round as well, including eBay, Fox/MySpace and AOL. From what we’ve heard, none of those companies invested.
To date Meebo has raised $12.5 million from Sequoia Capital and Draper Fisher Jurvetson.
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Robert Scoble Sell Out Complete
Update to our January post: Super blogger Robert Scoble, who has argued that having advertisements on blogs destroys trust, added advertisements to his blog today along with a redesign. At least it’s clear now who scratches Scoble’s back - Seagate.
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Starbucks meets reduced expectations
Coffeehouse chain Starbucks reported a decrease in fiscal second-quarter earnings Wednesday, saying charges resulting from CEO Howard Schultz's ongoing plan to transform the business hurt profits.
Watercooler’s SN Apps for Fans Backed by $5M
Meet Watercooler, a startup developing social network applications for all the usual suspects - Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5, and Friendster - that allow fans to rally around their favorite sports teams and TV shows.
The Mountain View-based firm raised a previously undisclosed $4M in Series A funding from Canaan Partners this past September. While it’s been developing Facebook apps soon after the launch of that social network’s platform in July 2007, it just recently launched a corporate website to provide a more unified front to its efforts.
While you may not associate the name “Watercooler” with the more famous app developers Slide and RockYou, as well as SGN and Zynga, the company has created over 700 community-building apps. Watercooler’s installs and active users earns it the #9 spot on Adonomics top Facebook developer list.
Watercooler’s apps focus on particular shows and teams, and give fans an opportunity to discuss recent events, share photos, and take quizzes. The applications can also communicate with each other, allowing for interaction between rival groups, even across the supported social networks. The company’s platform allows the company to produce these applications very quickly, each tailored to a particular show or team.
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Watercooler’s SN Apps for Fans Backed by $4M
Meet Watercooler, a startup developing social network applications for all the usual suspects - Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5, and Friendster - that allow fans to rally around their favorite sports teams and TV shows.
The Mountain View-based firm raised a previously undisclosed $4M in Series A funding from Canaan Partners this past September. While it’s been developing Facebook apps since July 2007, it just recently launched a corporate website to provide a more unified front to its efforts.
While you may not associate the name “Watercooler” with the more famous app developers Slide and RockYou, as well as SGN and Zynga, the company has created over 700 community-building apps. Watercooler’s installs and active users earns it the #9 spot on Adonomics top Facebook developer list.
Watercooler’s apps focus on particular shows and teams, and give fans an opportunity to discuss recent events, share photos, and take quizzes. The applications can also communicate with each other, allowing for interaction between rival groups, even across the supported social networks. The company’s platform allows the company to produce these applications very quickly, each tailored to a particular show or team.
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