| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
"As the market tightens up, valuations are coming down," Smernoff (pictured) says. "We may be able to take advantage of those lower valuations to grow our audience or add a new tool." Paltalk, founded in 1998, is a video- and chat-based social network that boasts 4 million active users (meaning people who have used the service within the last 90 days). Beyond buying HearMe's assets in 2001, Paltalk has not made further acquisitions. The service feels like a combination of cable-access television, CB radio and online chat. Much of the content is user-generated, although there is some original programming hosted by celebrities, such as radio personalities Opie and Anthony. A new flash-enabled version of the service, known as PaltalkExpress, is in beta testing now, with a late July launch scheduled. Previously, users had to install an application to use the service, and there was no offering for Mac users. PaltalkExpress fixes those problems. Smernoff declines to disclose the company's revenues, saying only that they are in the "tens of millions." The company has been profitable for four years, he says, and has not taken any funding since SoftBank Capital Partners' $6 million Series B in 2004. With its user base and profitability, it appears Paltalk might become an attractive M&A opportunity itself. - Mary Kathleen Flynn
 Deal Video
    Community
 Elsewhere on The Deal.comDealwatchThe Deal MagazineCorporate Dealmaker
The Deal VideoCategories
Blog roll
Archives
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
After 10 years in business, Paltalk has done little in the way of mergers and acquisitions, but that may soon change as president and chief operating officer Joel Smernoff predicts a year of buying opportunities.
|
|
|
|
|
With the new version of PalTalk you can see all rooms support voice, video and text for thousands of members simultaneously. I got the new version from here: PalTalk and it seems to work very well.