10x Revenues

from A VC by Fred

Companies don't really sell for multiples of revenue, but the math is easy so everyone does it.

I've read that Doubleclick sold for 10x their revenue of $300mm.

And that Right Media sold for 12x their annual revenue of $70mm.

Please correct me if I am wrong on these numbers as I am just relaying what I've heard and don't have access to the financials of privately held companies.

I believe that ultimately price needs to be factored as a function of EBITDA - earnings power. It could be the present value of future cash flows, it could be a mutiple of current EBITDA, it could even be a multiple of the cash flow that a buyer believes it can get by merging the asset into its business.

So when I see online advertising assets trading at north of 10x revenues, it makes me think that it's the latter factor at work.

I've heard that AOL monetized their acquistion of Advertising.com buy running all of their unsold inventory through Ad.com and that they got a tremendous return on investment from doing that.

So that may be the play for Yahoo! with the Right Media acquisition. And thus a multiple of current revenue or even cash flow is largely irrrelevant.

But even so, these are large numbers being paid and as a part owner of three online ad networks (TACODA, FeedBurner, and TargetSpot), I am thrilled to see these trades print.

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Tesla scales back range targets

from Engadget by Donald Melanson

Filed under: Transportation

While we doubt it'll be enough to get any of the lucky few first customers to cancel their orders, those planning a long haul trip in their shiny new Tesla Roadster may find themselves slightly disappointed when they finally get the keys, as the company's pulling back a bit on its promised 250 mile range on a single charge. Apparently, testing the car on an EPA-compliant dynamometer proved to be a bit more taxing than their initial estimates, forcing them to reconsider their boasting. While Tesla's not quite ready to get specific with the new numbers, it says it'll still come in at greater than 200 miles, which would still peg it well above other, less stylish electric vehicles. Now, if they'd only find an excuse to scale back the price.

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Lexar's 8GB ExpressCard SSD sneaks on the scene

from Engadget by Darren Murph

Filed under: Storage

While Lexar does a fine job competing in the flash memory arena, it appears that the outfit is giving it a go in the solid state disc realm as well. According a marginally descriptive product page, Lexar is offering up an 8GB ExpressCard SSD, which should go nicely above that 120GB PCMCIA NAND drive as you attempt to cram more storage into peripheral slots than inside your laptop's casing. Moreover, the device features a peak data transfer rate of 250Mbps, and while it doesn't appear to be available for shipment just yet, it'll run you a penny under $200 when it formally launches.

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Hip-IP's Mobigater Pro routes Skype calls to your mobile

Posted Apr 21st 2007 1:07PM by Darren Murph Filed under: Cellphones, Misc. Gadgets

Routing calls every which way has been going on forever (well, almost), and Hip-IP's Mobigater Pro doesn't differ a whole lot from other Skype-to-cellphone channelers that we've seen in the past. Essentially, the device seamlessly "transfers your Skype calls to your mobile phone without the use of SkypeOut credits," as it connects to your mobile via an internal SIM card. As predicted, it interfaces with your PC via plain ole USB, and users can not only ensure that they never miss an incoming Skype call, but they can phone up other Skype users around the globe just by using minutes from their mobile plan. The device can even redirect calls to five different handsets, but considering the £185.99 ($373) pricetag required for such a luxury, only the heaviest of yappers need apply. Click on through for a shot of the rear. [Via Wired]

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