Topix got a $50M-ish deal after all

The deal Topix.net got a few months ago generated a lot of interest, and questions as to how it had been valued. Well, Rafat got the scoop: about $50M.

In its most recent 10–Q, Tribune spent $16M to acquire 25% of Topix.net. Gannett’s 10–Q refers to $18M but that figure seems to account for more than the Topix investment – so let’s call it $16M.

Assuming that Knight Ridder Digital spent the same amount, Topix founders got a total of $48M (-ish) for 75% of the equity in the business – valuing the company around $64M (that closed 2004 with about $1M in revenues !!!). As I had written at the time, the multiple for content/aggregation deals is between 3 and 4 – Topix got way more than that. Even if some of this cash is being used as operating capital (less than $5M ?), more than $40M went into the pockets of the founders.

New rounds of congratulations to Rich and team for getting that kind of deal, and hat tip to Rafat for having spotted the numbers.