There are disputing rumors across the blogosphere this a.m. about whether Facebook is close to buying Plaxo, which offers browser plug-ins for maintaining contacts across certain Web sites and
applications. VentureBeat sources claim that Facebook is "one-hundred percent" buying Plaxo, while TechCrunch (link:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/14/plaxo-and-facebook-merger-rumors-false-so-far/) says, "it's very unlikely any offer has been made, let alone accepted." The only thing we know for certain is that
Plaxo is on the block; meanwhile, various unnamed sources have floated valuations of between $100 and $200 million.
Facebook stands to gain by acquiring Plaxo, as the social network
would love to have a tool that lets users freely import and export their data from any site. Combining Facebook's social networking data with Plaxo's huge database of contact information would further
both companies' goal of keeping people constantly connected. If a sale came to pass, Plaxo users would see Facebook updates delivered through Plaxo's browser plug-in. Meanwhile, Plaxo's Pulse, a
program that lets you see friends' actions on sites like Twitter, Flickr and YouTube, could be a great enhancement to Facebook's news feed.
Silicon Alley Insider's (link:
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/01/facebook-for-plaxo-valley-in-uproar.html) Henry Blodget thinks this one's a no-brainer. He says Plaxo is available, it's cheap, and the ability to import/export
contacts would make Facebook more convenient. Pulse would also "open up" Facebook to a certain extent, pleasing users.
Read the whole story at VentureBeat »