Myspace Bids Expected This Week

News Corp. is expecting to see bids for Myspace by the end of the week, Reuters said, with a price tag estimated at around $100 million – less than 20% of what News Corp. paid to acquire the once popular social networking site. News of the latest planned bids and expected valuation was first reported by Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. THL Partners, Redscout Ventures and Criterion Capital have all been named as potential buyers. News Corp. paid $580 million for Myspace in 2005.

(Reuters) – News Corp (NWSA.O) is expected to receive bids for Myspace by the end of this week, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Around five or more bids to buy all or part of the one-time social networking pioneer are expected, valuing the Los Angeles-based company at more than $100 million, according to this person.

News of the latest planned bids and expected valuation was first reported by Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

Among the names expected to bid are private equity firm THL Partners, Redscout Ventures and Criterion Capital, which owns social networking site Bebo. Other names, including Chinese Internet holding company Tencent (0700.HK) and Myspace co-founder Chris De Wolfe, have also had a look at the company’s books to see if its worth a bid.

News Corp paid more than $580 million for Myspace in 2005, beating out other media companies. Like Friendster, Myspace was a pioneer of the social networking space between 2005 to 2007, but it soon lost out to Facebook.

Last year News Corp relaunched the site as a social entertainment site with a focus on music, movies and celebrities. (Reporting by Yinka Adegoke; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)