The once mighty Digg sold for just $500,000

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The once mighty Digg sold for just $500,000

Just a few years ago, Digg was still the darling internet start-up, and it was still a place that many got their daily crowdsourced news. Once valued at over $160 million, Digg was recently sold for parts to the company Betaworks for just half a million.

Digg confirmed Thursday it sold its brand, website and technology to Betaworks. The price is a pittance for a company that raised $45 million from prominent investors including Facebook investor Greylock Partners, LinkedIn Inc. founder Reid Hoffman, and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen.

Digg received higher offers from bidders that included technology and publishing companies and start-ups but ultimately decided Betaworks had the best plan for reviving its brand, these people said. In May, Washington Post Co. hired 15 members of Digg’s engineering team—more than half of the company’s overall staff—for its SocialCode digital media subsidiary.

Betaworks is acquiring a website that still has a well known brand and sizable audience of more than 7 million visitors per month as of May, according to comScore.

Via