Social music site iLike Inc. is reportedly investigating a sale, with RealNetworks Inc. [
RNWK] and Ticketmaster emerging as possible buyers, according to a new
report. Ticketmaster already owns a 25% stake in iLike, alongside early investors Vinod Khosla and Bob Pittman. It's not clear whether Seattle-based iLike is retaining a bank or merely having conversations about a sale, but it appears founders Ali and Hadi Partovi are beginning to entertain serious offers.
iLike is the most popular social music application on Facebook Inc., through which fully
half of iLike's 30-plus million users access the service. Facebook is reportedly
looking to launch a fleshed-out music service in order to better
compete with the MySpace Music joint venture as well, making it another potential suitor for iLike. The social networking giant seems more likely to buy rather than build a music service, especially now that the four major record labels have forged a joint venture with MySpace Inc.
Ali Partovi
told me in July that iLike was considering raising another round of funding, but it hasn't announced anything yet. iLike last raised private capital in late 2006 at a valuation
north of $50 million, and has taken in at least $15.8 million in two rounds, but it doesn't appear to be profitable yet. The service also took a major step forward this year, when it partnered with RealNetworks' Rhapsody service to allow users to stream 25 full-length songs each month, rather than just 30-second clips. (Paying Rhapsody subscribers can stream unlimited songs through iLike as well.)
Both Partovi brothers have successfully built and sold companies before. Ali co-founded banner advertising network LinkExchange, sold to Microsoft Corp. [
MSFT] for $265 million in 1998, while Hadi was the co-creator of TellMe Networks, which Microsoft bought for about $800 million last year.
iLike rival Imeem Inc.
reportedly retained investment bank Montgomery & Co. last month to seek a sale, and laid off a quarter of its staff. Imeem's stakeholders include Sequoia Capital, Morgenthaler Ventures and Warner Music Group Corp. [
WMG].
-- Paul BonanosFor more, see AllThingsDSee
July 21 and
Aug. 1 posts from Tech Confidential concerning iLike
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