All Hail, Smithers and Burns!
by Kara Swisher
Posted on April 24, 2008 at 12:52 AM PT
Valleywag got a hold of a sticker (see below) that Bebo employees are passing around in anticipation of the close of the purchase of the third-ranked social-networking site by AOL for $850 million in cash.
The motto: “I, for one, welcome our new AOL overlords.”
Why shouldn’t they? As BoomTown reported, every Bebo employee has had their previously granted stock options accelerated and fully vested under terms of the deal.
This is typical in acquisitions by the Time Warner (TWX) online subsidiary, since it cannot offer enough of its moribund old media stock.
Unfortunately, those kind of deal terms don’t make for the kind of environment that encourages already jumpy entrepreneurs to stay. In fact, it kind of gives them a free pass to leave.
Still, it is nice to see Bebo minions celebrating their new bosses, including AOL CEO Randy Falco and President Ron Grant, who helmed the Bebo deal.
But to clarify for Bebo staff: Falco and Grant’s nickname at AOL is Smithers and Burns, that lovable pair from “The Simpsons,” and not overlords.
It goes without saying that further errors like this will not be tolerated.
Comments
I always thought of All Things Digital as a journalistic organization, so I’m surprised to see you recycling such tasteless trash from Valleywag.
Posted by Dave Jeyes at April 24th, 2008 at 12:46 pm