Biz (2586)

Friends Reunited sold for £25 million

Grade: "It's the best price we could get"

6 August 2009 15:40 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

ITV has finally off-loaded struggling website Friends Reunited.

The broadcaster sold the site for a pittance compared to what it paid for it in its hey-day back in 2005.

Michael Grade, ITV's executive chairman, described the sale as the "best price we could get".

Grade said. "It was regarded at the time as a good price. But the market has changed dramatically. You may have noticed but there's a recession on. It's the best price we could get."

ITV has now sold Friends Reunited to to Brightsolid, a DC Thomson subsidiary, for £25 million.

This figure is just a fraction of the original price paid for the site - a deal worth £175 million overall.

Via: guardian.co.uk

Full tags

Biz, Friends Reunited, ITV, Acquisitions