Ok i read this news via my feed reader and im a little amused. Mint reports that Desimartini is bought by HT media. The article claims that Desimartini has 2.5 lakhs registered users (many of which signed up due to the TV ads we disussed here) and also 2.5 million page views per month. Now HT Media has a lot of media muscle as it not only runs one of India’s largest selling english dailies in Hindustan Times but also publishes Mint and also runs FM radio station Fever 104. With that kind of media muscle it sure can give desimartini the “marketing muscle” it requires.
Now the size of the deal was not disclosed but it was said that the acquisition was made for less than 10 million $ (Rs39.3 crore)! Now my question is even 5 million is less than 10 million and even 0.5 million is less that 10 million!! What a vague statement that the acquisition was made for less than 10 million!
What is even more amusing though is the fact that such an astronomical figure was quoted!! I mean is desimartini worth even half of 10 million?? Just because it blatantly copies the design of Facebook??
Compare screenshots yourself! (Click to enlarge)
Desimartini
Wow .. I guess i should get my designer & programmer to create a copy a popular site and then sell it to a traditional media company for less than 10 million 
Well but atleast they were able to get some decent traction with 2.5 lakh users through the use of viral and tv ads (But i guess any network would right?).
Well HTMedia Internet head Amit Garg has said that besides for this acquisition they are also looking at the jobs and matrimony spaces that they want to venture into. “In the next three-six months, we will announce the jobs and matrimonial portals through which we plan to drive fresh traffic to our Internet business, which will contribute 10-15% of total revenues in the next three-five years,” Garg said
Im just wondering are these signs of a bubble?? Or is it just me that thinks that facebook is an exception and similar social networking site cant be valued in a similar manner! I guess thats what desimartini did.. Facebook = 23 million users so valuation 15 billion! Desimartini = 0.23 million users so that makes it 15 million $ in valuation!!!?? So i guess HT Media thinks its got a steal of a deal by buying Desimartini for less that 10 million!! (Im hoping for their sake its much much lesser than 10 million!)
Also now that they are looking at more verticals I just hope they dont go the acquisition route for jobs and matrimony and end up paying less that 10 million for shaadi and naukri clones..
@ Rajiv
Its gud point that u have brought out….less than $10 million can even be $5(hehe…),interesting qoute by HT aneways….desimartini stands above the deadline of $10 million by anycase as pointed out by u urself it should be at a minimum of $15 million……