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CBS has agreed to purchase CNET in an all-cash deal at a 44 percent premium above CNET’s current market value. The company has agreed to paid $11.50 a share for CNET, which closed at $7.95 per share yesterday.
Apart from acquiring Last.fm and partnering with Loopt for mobile geo-targeting, CBS has done precious little in digital media. In February, it began offering select “classic” TV shows online.
And CNET, whose shares have not seen over $10 in years (reports Silicon Alley Insider), currently suffers from management dissatisfaction among investors, which have publicly lobbied for a takeover since early January, writes MarketingVox.
The two companies reportedly intend to combine ad platforms. A joined CBS Interactive/CNET unit is expected to generate $1 billion in revenue by 2010.
Despite critiques about its management, CNET has kept itself busy over the past several months. In March it partnered with Univision to launch a Spanish-language technology and gadget site. It also has a reciprocal ad and content partnership with Yahoo.
Not to say there isn’t trouble within the ranks. Apparently its own subsidiaries learned about the CBS acquisition in the same way the world at large did: in the news.
“Nothing like scanning the headlines and finding out your parent company has been acquired,” subsidiary ZDNet wrote.
While ownership of CNET may increase CBS’ clout in the digital sector, incorporation in a larger network is unlikely to improve CNET management’s communication skills.
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