If the stories of other file-sharing firms that sold out are any indication, Pirate Bay’s move to sell itself and go legit might not play out so well. Here’s what happened to some of its peer-to-peer predecessors that were put up for sale.
The news this week that Napster is relaunching with a $5-a-month subscription plan that includes 5 free MP3 downloads would appear to be a troubling development for RealNetworks’ rival Rhapsody service, which will set you back $13 a month for a streaming service that lacks the free MP3s. It is also no doubt irritating to Real that it comes from a company that is now a unit of Best Buy: in the past, the Best Buy digital music store was a re-branded version of Rhapsody, which came pre-loaded on non-Zune, non-iPod music players sold by the retailer.
Looks like Chris Gorog really was serious about selling off perennially troubled Napster, after all. He’s selling the company to Best Buy for $121 million. That’s $2.65 per share, which works out to be $54 million net of cash.
Best Buy this morning announced a deal to buy online music site Napster for $2.65 a share in cash. That comes to $121 million, or $54 million net of Napster’s $67 million in cash and short term investments as of June 30.
This morning, Napster (NAPS) mailed a letter to shareholders advising them not to vote for three dissident investors–Perry H. Rod, Thomas Sailors and Kavan P. Singh–who are seeking seats on the company’s board, and to instead back the three incumbents seeking to keep their seats. Not a big surprise; did you think the board was going to say otherwise?
Three investors have disclosed in a lengthy filing with the SEC that they play to stage a proxy fight for three Napster (NAPS) board seats.
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