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Demand Media Inc., the company formed by former MySpace CEO Richard Rosenblatt (right), has purchased Pluck Corp., a maker of social media and news syndication tools. Reports pegged the value of the deal at $50 million to $75 million, although a Demand Media spokeswoman described that price range as "inaccurate," while declining to disclose terms.

If those numbers are in the ballpark, it would represent a modest exit for Pluck and its investors. The Austin, Texas, startup, which was formed in 2003 by former Austin Ventures partner Dave Panos and former Living.com Inc. CEO Andrew Busey (now an advisor to Pluck), raised a total of $17 million from financial investors Austin Ventures and Mayfield Fund and strategic backer Reuters Group plc [RTR].

"This combination will allow us to provide our customers with an even broader suite of social media products and monetizable content," Panos said in a statement announcing the deal. "The combined expertise of our two companies in platform technology development, content creation and community management is truly unmatched."

When Pluck launched it focused on developing RSS and search tech. But by 2005 it had focused on helping mainstream media outlets syndicate blog content. Now the company's software runs on more than 200 Web sites, including those of USA Today, The Washington Post and Fox News. In recent months the four-year-old company had moved to branch out into complementary markets by helping retailers and consumer product companies syndicate content and engage users on their Web sites.

Pluck once looked like a social networking player with real growth potential. Perhaps most impressive, it has made significant inroads into the enterprise sector, always a tough nut to crack. It had an experienced, entrepreneurial leadership team and appeared to have launched at an auspicious time for a social networking player. Either it has run seriously off the rails, or air is leaking from the SN bubble faster than from a flat tire. - Alain Sherter

See March 4 press release from Demand Media
See March 4 post from TechCrunch
See November 2007 post from Tech Confidential
For more see PaidContent and Olaf Egner

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