Everyone knows WeblogsInc bought by AOL for $20M-$35M

jennajay a golfer
Originally uploaded by redbarren.

I didnt know Calcanis was funded by Cuban. Other rumours circulating about Gawker being bought by NewsCorp. Some interesting notes from Jeff Clavier on the deal who notes from the Non Calcanis Founder : "The company's blogs have had an exponential trajectory.. Engadget, Autoblog, BloggingBaby... In total, the company has about 130 bloggers, with about 15 full time employees... AOL intends to keep the company/blogs separate from its site.. perhaps the first pure content-related company being bought out in the blog/ Web 2.0 space... For AOL, this is head first into the blog media revolution, so to speak Calacanis, who was at the We Media conference today where I was, refused comment; I did spot him with an AOL tote bag."

Jeff also has some great notes on VC session for Web 2.0
: Exit is M&A and not IPO, because of the limited appetite of the public market and Sarbanes Oxley issues
A: Steve makes the point that IPOs will only make sense for the top winners in VC portfolios, where returns will be spectacular. It should be targeted as a goal, being open to listen to the right “take-out” opportunities as they come.

Q: Why should a company take VC money if they are already cash flow positive ? Isn’t a VC investment becoming an endorsement ?

Fred Wilson: “If you don’t need money, and you take it, you should be shot” (A: Fred mentions another type of deals where VC (or private equity) funds buy out a portion of founders equity.)

Q: There is a gap between Angels investing and VCs that is growing because of limited requirements of Web 2.0 companies. This has created a need for an incubator/early stage fund that VC firms could contribute to ?

A: Ross suggests that one of the ways would be to allow VC partners to invest their personal capital. Fred mentions that an early stage VC fund has been created for that purpose. Steve explains that there are limitations due to their own limited partnership agreements (and the need to avoid Double fee, Double carry).