AOL Sells Bebo Site to Criterion Capital Partners - NYTimes.com

More on AOL’s latest acquisition debacle

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but reports pegged its value at $10 million or less. AOL paid $850 million to a pair of British entrepreneurs for the company in March 2008.

AOL once had high hopes that Bebo would help it to regain momentum, especially with younger audiences and advertisers, and to catch other fast-growing Internet franchises. At the time, it was popular in Britain.

When it bought Bebo, the chief executive of AOL at the time, Randy Falco, called it a “game-changing acquisition” that would turn AOL into “a social media powerhouse.” AOL also had hopes Bebo would help AOL’s instant messaging service bring in revenue.

AOL Sells Bebo Site to Criterion Capital Partners - NYTimes.com