Murdoch sells MySpace for $35 million

News Corporation has sold MySpace to online advertising network Specific Media in a deal valued at $35 million, the Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday.

News Corporation has sold MySpace to online advertising network Specific Media in a deal valued at $35 million, the Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday.

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News Corp had acquired the once-dominant social-networking site for $580 million six years ago, before its user base and advertising revenue plunged amid the rise of Facebook.

The change in ownership signifies the start of a layoff process that was announced in January and will affect nearly half of MySpace’s 500 employees.

News Corp acquired MySpace in 2005 at a time when the site had 20 million users, a number that rose to more than 76 million in October 2008.

Now, however, MySpace has just 35 million users in the US, according to ComScore.