Bodybuilding.com sells for $100mm...

[Silencer]

In today's Wall Street Journal. Libery Media ponied up the money to the founding family and the private equity firm that owned a stake.

BiG A -- a 9-figure payday doesn't sound too shabby does it!

 

[HUTCH]

Did Bob Chic buy it...

 

[diesel158]

you gotta be kidding me. at the risk of sounding like an idiot,is that just for the domain name?

 

[Dusty Hanshaw]

Does anyone have a link I can use to read more on this?

 

[HUTCH]

Does anyone have a link I can use to read more on this?

there is a sticky over on getbig...with a couple articles in it...

 

[panic66]

Does anyone have a link I can use to read more on this?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119967151603271405.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

 

[Big A]

I was going to say that $100mil was cheap for it, but it's for a %, which sounds accurate.

BB.com spends $250k/month on Googleads alone. You can imagine its income.

 

[LATS]

ya know.. ya look at the owners and you see just a couple of guys who loved bodybuilding.. they took to the highest level and look what happened.. for those who say ya cant make money in bodybuilding .. they found a nitch and ran with it.. GOOD OF THEM..

 

[Ryce]

so if bb.com sells for 100 million what do you think Big A could get for promuscle? Or chad for muscle mayhem??? Anything???

 

[Big A]

so if bb.com sells for 100 million what do you think Big A could get for promuscle? Or chad for muscle mayhem??? Anything???

PM was valued for over 7 figures not that long ago.

BB.com has a supp business too, which is where the bulk of the money is coming from. The $100mil was for a % too. The whole business is worth much more.

Standard way to value a business is getting the yearly income and multiplying it by 6 to 13, depending on the type of business, industry, risk, etc. Of course, A LOT of other factors come into play too, but that is a rough guideline.

Elite is worth some good money - from knowing their advertising rates, and the amount of sponsors they have, they are pulling close to or around $50k/month from advertising. Memberships ads another $100k or so. Then you have the affiliate program.
So the website alone would be worth $20mil upwards. Plus any supp/product business they have attached to it, etc.

 

[nosmas]

PM was valued for over 7 figures not that long ago.

YOU TAKE CHECKS?

 

[BrooklynBB]

**broken link removed**

And here's the full article from the Wall Street Journal:

Deal for Controlling Stake In Bodybuilding.com Comes As Retail Sales Shift to Web
By JESSICA E. VASCELLARO
January 7, 2008; Page B5

Liberty Media Corp., in the latest move to beef up its portfolio of Internet businesses, is expected to announce today that it has bought a controlling stake in sports-nutrition retailer and fitness Web-site operator Bodybuilding.com LLC.

Liberty is paying more than $100 million to buy the stake from the site's founding family and a private-equity firm, according to a person familiar with the matter, although it isn't expected to disclose terms.

Once known primarily as an investor in media companies, Liberty has taken steps in recent years to become more of an operator of its own businesses. In the past couple of years it has assembled a sizable portfolio of Internet ventures to complement its QVC home-shopping network, whose growth has slowed as retail sales shift to the Web. Last year, Liberty purchased Buyseasons Inc., which operates an online costume site, and a controlling stake in Backcountry.com, an outdoor and action-sports retailer. In 2006 Liberty paid nearly $500 million to buy Internet flower and food seller Provide Commerce Inc.

Liberty Chief Executive Gregory Maffei said the company is committed to acquiring more high-growth Internet businesses targeted at narrow customer segments, viewing them as highly attractive as audiences fragment online. "We would do as many such deals as we could get our hands on," he said, stressing that the number of independent companies that meet those criteria is relatively small.

Bodybuilding.com, a closely held company in Meridian, Idaho, was in Liberty's sweet spot. The company sells a range of fitness supplements, clothing and supplies for exercise buffs, competing with large national chains including General Nutrition Centers Inc. and Vitamin Shoppe. Founded in 1999 by CEO Ryan DeLuca and other members of his family, the company's Web site also features articles on health and fitness and BodySpace, a social network where more than 100,000 users post pictures of their bulging muscles and swap exercise goals.

Bodybuilding.com had roughly two million unique monthly visitors in November, according to Web-tracking firm comScore Inc., up 35% from the year-earlier month. Its sales are increasing at more than 60% a year, according to Liberty and Mr. DeLuca, and are expected to top $100 million in 2008. Mr. DeLuca's family sold a 60% interest in the company to Milestone Partners, a Pennsylvania private-equity firm, in 2006.

For the most part, Liberty has left its Internet businesses to run largely on their own, only occasionally selling their products on QVC and the shopping network's Web site. But Liberty hopes Bodybuilding.com will benefit by tapping into QVC's direct-marketing and video-commerce experience, according to Michael Zeisser, senior vice president at Liberty, who has been talking to Mr. DeLuca about a possible deal for more than a year. "QVC really knows how to create television-based product videos that get consumers to pick up the phone," Mr. Zeisser said.

The deal comes as Liberty awaits a possible further shake-up of its portfolio of businesses, which include Starz Entertainment and investments in media companies. Liberty is awaiting regulatory clearance to complete its acquisition of a roughly 40% stake in DirecTV Group Inc.

 

[thedonker]

PM was valued for over 7 figures not that long ago.

BB.com has a supp business too, which is where the bulk of the money is coming from. The $100mil was for a % too. The whole business is worth much more.

Standard way to value a business is getting the yearly income and multiplying it by 6 to 13, depending on the type of business, industry, risk, etc. Of course, A LOT of other factors come into play too, but that is a rough guideline.

Elite is worth some good money - from knowing their advertising rates, and the amount of sponsors they have, they are pulling close to or around $50k/month from advertising. Memberships ads another $100k or so. Then you have the affiliate program.
So the website alone would be worth $20mil upwards. Plus any supp/product business they have attached to it, etc.

I'm in the wrong business, all I can say is well done. I have toyed with the idea of setting up something selling supps before here in the UK in the past where the business is a fraction of the size of the USA but seeing those figures it may be more worth it. Don't ya just hate missing the boat.

 

[oldfella]

BB.com 100mil, Pro Muscle............Priceless!!!

 

[irish_sd]

It's good to see people make it big.

 

[ironone1]

Isn't it BigCat who owns it? I always thought he was a good bro who really knew his stuff.

 

[Ryce]

PM was valued for over 7 figures not that long ago.

BB.com has a supp business too, which is where the bulk of the money is coming from. The $100mil was for a % too. The whole business is worth much more.

Standard way to value a business is getting the yearly income and multiplying it by 6 to 13, depending on the type of business, industry, risk, etc. Of course, A LOT of other factors come into play too, but that is a rough guideline.

Elite is worth some good money - from knowing their advertising rates, and the amount of sponsors they have, they are pulling close to or around $50k/month from advertising. Memberships ads another $100k or so. Then you have the affiliate program.
So the website alone would be worth $20mil upwards. Plus any supp/product business they have attached to it, etc.

I agree elite could be worth alot. Question is who do you sell elite too? Weider/ AMI?? MD?? How many companies out there could justify buying a bodybuilding board? Iunderstand they may buy it just because of the ad dollars but who would buy it??

If you wake up tomorrow and decide to sell promuscle how do you sell it? where do you advertise it??

 

[Big A]

I agree elite could be worth alot. Question is who do you sell elite too? Weider/ AMI?? MD?? How many companies out there could justify buying a bodybuilding board? Iunderstand they may buy it just because of the ad dollars but who would buy it??

If you wake up tomorrow and decide to sell promuscle how do you sell it? where do you advertise it??

A lot of people/companies out there would buy these sites in an instant, even if they are not involved in bb themselves. It's a business. Most people don't care what kind of business they own as long as they make money.

Plenty of investment circles that advertise big money online sites/business all the time.

As a side note, bb.com which is 8 years old, is worth/sold all up for about $250mil (if the $100mil represents 40% as mentioned).
Weider publications which was 50years old or whatever, with countless mags, only sold for $300million odd. Puts in perspective the way things happen today, and how the old way of doing business is just a dinosaur.

 

[massmonster32]

Thats absurd and crazy how or why anyone in their right minds would ever pay for any web site that much money. Hell not even google. Hey if they got the money to burn its not my wallet. MM

 

[blackhole2]

That's inspirational.

Put your head towards something that you love.

Develop an idea about something that you have passion.

thrive on being great at what you do and at some point be able to not just make a living out of it but be able to make a fortune out of it.

J