Online photo sharing, storage and creativity Web site Photobucket is being acquired by Fox Interactive Media, a division of News Corporation. In a separate deal, News Corporation said it is also acquiring real-time video and audio editing Web site Flektor Incorporated. Terms of both deals were not disclosed. Dan Berger, a spokesman for Fox Interactive Media, said that both Photobucket and Flektor will remain as standalone businesses within FIM, but that "their technologies will be integrated" within the company's other divisions and businesses, including MySpace.com, FOXSports.com, GameSpy and RottenTomatoes.com.
Denver-based Photobucket has more than 42 million users, with an estimated 47% who then link their photos to social networks such as MySpace.com, according to the company. "Becoming part of the Fox Interactive Media network will have a tremendous and positive impact on our ability to serve our users' needs. We plan to continue developing innovative tools that enhance self-expression and allow our users to have the best media sharing, linking and searching experience on the Web. Partnering with FIM will give us the resources and support to deliver on this vision, as well as the ability to offer new opportunities to our end users, customers and partners," said Alex Welch, CEO of Photobucket.
Culver City, California-based Flektor, which provides tools to create mash-ups or other types of user-generated media clips, was founded in 2006. "We founded Flektor to give Internet users the tools they need to easily create, connect and share content. Becoming a part of the Fox Interactive Media network will enable us to deliver these tools to the broadest possible online audience," said Jason Rubin, co-founder of Flektor.
News source: ComputerWorld
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