Some laughed when Bob Pittman bought controlling interest in Daily Candy for $3.5 million. Now, says the Journal, it will sell for $100 million.
Without costs for printing or the need for much editorial product, Daily Candy boasts margins of nearly 60%, say people familiar with the matter. The hope for 2006 is that the business will produce revenue somewhere less than $20 million, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the low-teen millions, these people say.
There’s a syncopation at work here. Email is still hot with advertisers, who finally understand it, and so they value it and pay. They will understand and value the distributed web next.