Bebo Founders Plot Relaunch After $1m Buyback

The people who sold the social networking site Bebo for $850m (£570m) have now bought it back for $1m (£660,000) and are planning a relaunch.

Founders Michael and Xochi Birch had racked up 40 million users when they sold Bebo to AOL in 2008 but it failed to innovate amid fierce competition from the likes of Facebook and Twitter.

AOL revealed in April 2010 it planned to either sell or close down the business, saying then: "Bebo, unfortunately, is a business that has been declining and, as a result, would require significant investment in order to compete in the competitive social networking space."

The site - once the most-visited social network in the UK - fell behind after Facebook opened up its services to users beyond college networks.

When AOL sold Bebo on to Criterion Capital Partners for $10m, disagreements on a revamp combined with the falling membership and it was put up for auction following a chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

While no details have been released about the pending relaunch, the Birches have confirmed it will be led by their so-called ideas lab, Monkey Inferno.

The team of 21 people, including engineers and designers, have been tasked with breathing new life into the site.

In a statement, Monkey Inferno CEO Shaan Puri said while they aren't announcing their plans for Bebo just yet, they do have a message for its users: "We're excited about the ambitious challenge of bringing Bebo back, and couldn't be happier to announce that the product will be back in the hands of the founders.

"We know the odds are stacked against us, but we love challenges and the Bebo users deserve better than what they have received the past few years."

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