Google’s on and off negotiations to acquire Digg are back in a big way. TechCrunch is reporting that over the last six weeks, multiple sources from within Google have informed them that the acquisition will bring Digg under the Google News Property.
The acquisition is estimated to be in the $200 million range, well below the $4-$5 billion valuation that Digg has received in the past.
Despite rigorous past attempts, Digg CEO Jay Adelson had remained firm in his denial of the buyout. Google’s Marissa Mayer had eventually subsided talks with Digg for a period of time, yet now the companies are reported to be in the final stages of negotiations. According to TechCrunch’s sources the deal could still take up to a few weeks to be finalized.
Additionally, based on past rendezvous with the two internet companies, the deal could entirely still have the potential to fall apart.
The majority of Digg’s revenue comes through a three year ad deal with Microsoft, which would be terminated if the Google buyout is successful (Potential lawsuit?). Microsoft had also shown some previous interest in an acquisition of Digg, and may be willing to step back in, if negotiations with Google go south.
