Internet buyouts: Getting dirt cheap?

Posted Aug 23rd 2007 11:00AM by Tom Taulli
Filed under: Internet, Blogs, Media World

Alan Meckler, who is the CEO of Jupitermedia (NASDAQ: JUPM), is a deal junkie. Over the years, he's racked up quite a few transactions in the Internet space.

For example, one of his recent purchases is the $20 million deal for mediabistro.com, which is a career and community site for creative professionals.

A big help was Meckler's securing of a $115 million senior credit facility (from KeyBanc Capital Markets).

But will the recent turmoil in financial markets be a big challenge for deals? Actually, Meckler doesn't think so and has an intriguing post on the matter (from his always informative blog).

In fact, he says that deal flow has been strong. Why? He posits that it could be that "many entrepreneurs might be panicking."

And, for savvy buyers, that can certainly be a good thing.

But, I think there's something else; that is, Web 2.0 properties are having lots of difficulties getting traction. The competition is fierce, barriers to entry are often low and it's not easy to monetize things. And, there haven't been many worthwhile buyouts in the space.

But for Meckler – who has the luxury of a large infrastructure and lots of business savvy – should be able to capitalize on things.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Tags: jupitermedia, JUPM