Orange to acquire 30-50 percent of Dailymotion? [Updated]

Update: The acquisition has been confirmed, details at foot of the post.

According to the rumor mill coming out of the DLD Conference, European based video sharing site Dailymotion appears to be in acquisition talks. Or, at the very least, it appears the Orange will be acquiring 30-50 percent of the company with the official announcement to come tomorrow (25 January).

Telecompaper states that the move is being investigated in order to strengthen the financial aspect of Dailymotion. From what we’re seeing, reports are stating that the entire acquisition should fall below the €75M range. For Orange, you can expect to see increased advertising on Dailymotion videos for the company.

We’re seeing reports, as well, that Orange might integrate Dailymotion into its Livebox and likely even smartphone services in order to bolster interactivity.

We’ve sent an email to the parties involved and we’re awaiting comment. We’ll update when we have more information.

Update: The confirmed details of the deal is as follows. Orange is expected to acquire 49% of Dailymotion for approximately €59 million (€58.8 million).

According to SAI, Orange will not seek to control the company, the existing board will stay in place and can bring in other investors. Orange also has the option to buy out Dailymotion fully at a valuation of between $120 and $280 million.