Yahoo is reportedly in talks to acquire up to 75 percent of the video social network Dailymotion. According to the Wall Street Journal, in what could be Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s first major purchase since she took control, the search engine company is considering such a deal that sources say could be valued at around $300 million.
Any such deal would ideally be a win-win situation for both parties, as France-based Dailymotion is eager to establish a greater presence in the US, and Yahoo is looking to grow its video presence internationally.
Founded in 2005, Dailymotion operates as a social video site that includes a mixture of amateur and professional content. It currently seeks to be a competitor to Google-owned YouTube, and while it has original channels and programming, it still pales in comparison to the traffic that YouTube garners each month. In 2007, the company announced that it was going to launch its US-based operations in order to try and capture more of the market. Two years ago, Orange acquired 49 percent of the company for approximately €59 million in a “two-part” transaction.
Dailymotion CEO Cedric Tournay told FOX Business that his company’s “next step” was to find a partner in the US — if this speculated deal becomes a reality and goes through, Tourney will have found a rather large partner with extensive resources.
Yahoo still remains one of the top sites on the Internet with traffic going to its many topical sites. Anyone who visits these niche pages will see an enormous amount of video being used.
It’s important to note that the deal is not confirmed and that the Wall Street Journal report is speculative. Spokespeople for both companies refused to comment to the publication about the story.
Photo credit: David Paul Morris/Getty Images
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