Sony to Buy Club Penguin for $500M
May 16, 2007 by Mark Evans
Filed under Business News
According to TechCrunch, Sony is offering a staggering $500-million for Kelowna,B.C.-based Club Penguin, which operates an online community where children can play games in a “safe, fun and interactive environment”. Believe it or not, Club Penguin generates revenue from monthly and annual subscriptions ($5.95 for a single month; $57.95 for an annual membership), which makes it an anomaly within the free-mium world of the Web these days. Club Penguin, which was started in late-2005, is expected to have profits of $35-million this year on sales of $65-million. The company donates a healthy amount of its profits to charity - something it wants to continue to do if it gets acquired by Sony. For more, check out TechCrunch and Mashable.
OK….I admit it…I had a hand in this one….I pay monthly for not one, but two $5.95 memberships in the club. And I think it’s good value to have my kids on a safe, ad free site….but come to think of it, I have not seen them on it recently….hum….time to cancel those memberships perhaps…this month it’s Webkins they want. Another great Canadian success. Well hats off to the boys in Kelowna! Job well done. An inspiration to us all.