The Price of Mediabistro

When I first heard about Mediabistro being for sale last summer, I also heard the number $25 million floated around.  As in, that’s about how much they were looking for.  As the sale process continued, new information was hard to come by.  But I did hear that the asking price had been lowered, and lowered again.  To what, I don’t know.

Mediabistro’s revenues have been estimated to be at anywhere between $2 and $8 million a year, depending on what you read, which would put the revenue transaction multiple for the property at anywhere between 3 and 12 times (based on the $23 million sales price).  Three times, though somewhat high, is not beyond the pale.  Anything more might be.  Most B2B insiders that I talked to were incredulous about the price.  Some were not, and I count myself among them.

If I were an operator–and let’s not forget that I am but a lowly editor–a couple of things about what Mediabistro is not doing would intrigue me.  First, Mediabistro does not rely on display advertising.  The Web site has a very valuable audience and robust traffic.  A simple and non-intrusive redesign could free up some nice real-estate for advertising.  Second, I know that I religiously read the Mediabistro daily news feed.  There are opportunities for more editorial products as well as expansion of the current products, like FishbowlNY.  Third, Mediabistro has a nice educational platform that can be built upon and then rolled into….  Fourth, more face-to-face events.  Mediabistro was built on face-to-face events–informal events.  Those should continue, of course, and I’m sure Laurel Touby wouldn’t have it any other way.  But Mediabistro has the brand power now (and the backing with Jupitermedia) to launch larger, more formalized, sponsored events.  In time, it could also launch award shows as well.  And, finally, with Jupiter’s corporate muscle and knowledge of job boards, Mediabistro’s central business can be built upon through technology and marketing.

So maybe Mediabistro’s revenue numbers don’t justify a $23 million price tag.  But, with some hard work, in time, they will.