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May 22, 2006
Benchmark Europe Backs Classmates Clone Bebo
Saying they are trying to pick the next Yahoo, Benchmark Capital has taken a $15M stake in Classmates.com clone Bebo, based in the UK with the plan to take it to the US. No disclosure on terms but we note that the founders still own the largest stake in the company.
According to a report in the Guardian, Bebo has been winning market share in the UK from MySpace and is now the number two to MySpace's number one.
As alarm:clock, our sister site, has been reporting there is plenty of competition already in the US market. We're wondering what it is that makes Benchmark think this British upstart has a chance. Its London team has at least one partner with a strong television industry background. And both of the big exits in this field have been driven by TV companies, Friends Reunited was bought be ITV and MySpace by Fox Interactive - is that the direction they will go with this one? And as for saying they want to back the next Yahoo, we say: who doesn't?
Read - Setanta backers spend $15m in search for the next Yahoo (Guardian)
Posted on May 22, 2006 05:38 AM | Posted to Media | Venture Capital | Permalink
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