Monday, June 2, 2025

July 2, 2013

Guy Sells His Company For $850 Million, Watches It Crumble, Buys It Back For $1 Million

Michael Birch, founder of Bebo the social networking site, sold the website for $850 million to AOL in 2005, but Birch has now bought back his webiste for a mere $1 million - just to to play around with it and see if it can once again prosper.

In 2005 Bebo was sold to AOL for $850 million. Back then it was supposed to be a huge social network. It obviously hasn’t taken off. The site’s founder Michael Birch has just bought back the social network for a paltry $1 million. Birch thought it would be fun to see if they could restore the social network to its former glory.

AOL’s acquisition of the website was meant to put them in a “leading position” in social networking but just two years after the purchase, it seemed doomed.

Yes, this millionaire paid $1 million to play around with his old website. Whether it suceeds or continues to fail does not seem a top priority for Birch, it will simply be something for the founder to play around with.

[Source: Valleywag, Twitter]