Google Waiting for Facebook to Approach Them

Friday, July 13th, 2007 by Andy Beal

Google Waiting for Facebook to Approach Them

Thanks to Jordan’s excellent coverage, Marketing Pilgrim has become the unofficial Facebook rumor blog and today we have more to share. Despite some suggesting Google should go ahead and acquire Facebook, it appears Sergey Brin is not in a mad rush to snap them up.

“If they come to us, we’d certainly be open to talking,” Brin said, answering a reporter’s question at the 25th annual Allen & Co. media deal-makers conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. “But I think they’re building a great company of their own.”

Hmm. We could fill a couple of posts with analysis of what Brin’s statement actually means. My guess is that Google knows that if they make the approach, they’ll likely have to pay a premium for Facebook - especially as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg seems happy to throw wild valuations at any potential suitor.

Instead, Google will likely sit back and wait to see if Facebook can continue its blistering growth. If it can, then likely it might price itself too high for Google - who’s already shelling out $5+ billion in acquisitions. If it starts to falter, Facebook might realize it needs help and approach Google. Facebook approaching Google would put Schmidt, Bring and Page in a stronger position to negotiate.

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5 comments on “Google Waiting for Facebook to Approach Them”

Google? Facebook? Acquisition? Says:

July 13th, 2007 at 1:51 pm

[...] Other rumours are circulating that indicate Google is laying back and waiting for Facebook to come to them. Still, others are saying that Zuckerberg and co. are sticking with their initial plan of staying indepedent, shunning all takeover offers, and planning to go public later this year. [...]
Ana Says:

July 13th, 2007 at 6:36 pm

I’m curious as to what you think of Zuckerberg’s statement that they are not a media company…

but rather, a tech company?

See here for a full discussion
http://blog.digitalaxle.com/2007/07/zuckerbergs-fam.html

Are they building these tech apps as a substitute for a good advertising platform? How will they add to their valuation?
Facebook is not for sale. But for how much ? Says:

July 13th, 2007 at 7:52 pm

[...] It’s not a rumor : Facebook is not for sale. And it’s not a rumor either, Google would like to buy Facebook. But they’re waiting to be approached… They may have become acquisition-shy at Google. [...]
Andy Beal Says:

July 13th, 2007 at 8:10 pm

@Ana - and Google’s just a search company.
This Week In SEO - 7/13/07 - TheVanBlog Says:

July 16th, 2007 at 10:14 pm

[...] Google Waiting for Facebook to Approach Them [...]

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