Social networking website Friendster up for sale

According to reports in the West, Friendster has selected investment bank Morgan Stanley to find a potential buyer of the entire company or part of its assets.

A source at Friendster confirmed to Media that the news is “true” and added that TechCrunch, which first reported the story, had seen “a very fact-based document” seen by Friendster and Morgan Stanley executives.

Morgan Stanley is believed to be specifically looking for an investor in Asia, as over 75 per cent of the overall accounts registered on Friendster are located in the Asia-Pacific region. Friendster’s key markets in Asia-Pacific include Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

According to documents received by TechCrunch this deal could help a player gain a quick access to the Asian social networking scene and benefit from the internet growth it its key markets.

However, Jason Kuperman, VP digital development at Omnicom Group, questioned whether Friendster would be able to find a buyer. “It’s a good service but in Asia it had a first mover advantage that is not sustainable as local networks spring up. I’ve always been surprised by the its success here.”

Kuperman added that few of the other regional players needed a service like Friendster. “They all have strong alternatives,” he said, adding that the only potential buyers he could envisage would be Yahoo or an Australian player.

Another agency source revealed that Friendster has struggled to get itself onto the schedules of media buyers. “We talk about it but I’ve never seen it on a schedule,” he said.

Friendster claims to serve over 100 million registered users globally, with 100,000 new users and 500 million page views per day. The company currently employs around 105 staff, based at its offices in Australia, the US, Philippines and Singapore. 

Friendster recently reorganised to shift the focus of its operations to Asia. Its focus is expected to remain on gaming and music despite the sale.

However, recent data shows that Friendster is under increasing pressure from Facebook.