NEW YORK (Reuters) - News Corp has sold social media site Myspace for about $35 million to online advertising company Specific Media, according to a source familiar with the transaction.
The deal, announced on Wednesday, calls for News Corp to retain a minority stake in the website that it purchased six years ago for $580 million, the companies said.
They did release detailed financial terms, but the source said that transaction is a mix of cash and stock with News Corp retaining about 5 percent.
Additionally, more than 50 percent of Myspace's 500-strong workforce is expected to be laid off because of the sale, the source said.
"There are many synergies between our companies as we are both focused on enhancing digital media experiences by fueling connections with relevance and interest," said Tim Vanderhook, chief executive of Specific Media in a statement.
The source is not authorized to speak publicly about the deal.
The sale of Myspace caps six years of ownership under Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, which swooped in to buy Myspace beating out rival Viacom for what was then one of the world's hottest social networking sites.
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