CNN, Mashable Reportedly in Talks for $200M Deal

By Ivana Kvesic, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, March 13, 2012

CNN has been in negotiations to purchase social media news blog Mashable, according to several speculative reports coming out this week.

The news comes from sources familiar with the negotiations between the two parties, according to Felix Salmon of Reuters news agency.

It is anticipated that CNN will purchase the site, which is one of the world's largest websites with over 50 million pageviews monthly, for $200 million. The acquisition could be announced as early as Tuesday, according to Salmon.

CNN, a unit of Time Warner, has yet to verify or deny the reports that it is looking to acquire the widely popular social media news, business, entertainment, and technology blog.

"We do not engage in speculation about our business and we aren't commenting on these reports," CNN spokeswoman Christa Robinson told Reuters.

Many believe that the acquisition would help CNN compete in the rapidly expanding online news industry looking to capture young, tech-savy readers who are interested in social media and technology news.

"They want something that is more social, more trendy, and has a bit of a technology edge because CNN is bleeding viewers, and advertising revenues appears to be suffering," Rob Enderle of Enderle Group told the E-Commerce Times of the possible venture.

Scotsman Pete Cashmore founded Mashable in 2005.

On Monday morning, Cashmore sent out an email to his employees denying the rumors that Mashable would be purchased this week, but leaving the door open for a possible near future acquisition, according to The New York Times.

"Mashable's one of the hottest brands here at SXSW and there's bound to be rumors coming out of the festival. We had a great presence here and I look forward to updating you guys when we get back," Cashmore wrote to employees.