Report: News Corp. taking bids for MySpace

News Corp. is expected to begin entertaining bids for MySpace this week, with a minimum asking price of $100 million, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

In addition to about a half dozen private equity firms expected to submit offers, a couple of Internet companies have also expressed interest in the foundering social-networking site, according to the report, which cited people familiar with the matter.

News Corp. representatives declined to comment on the report.

The media giant revealed in January that it was exploring the possibility of selling or spinning off MySpace after months of rumors and its own dissatisfaction with MySpace's performance.

News Corp. bought MySpace in 2005 for $580 million as part of its purchase of Intermix. But the former social-networking sensation has fallen on hard times lately, losing more and more ground to Facebook until it finally underwent a massive redesign that left it focusing on pop culture media-sharing for young users rather than attempting to be a universally appealing social network.

However, in the face of News Corp.'s public frustration with MySpace, those efforts were not expected to result in a major turnaround capable of saving the site. News Corp. revealed last November that quarterly revenue at MySpace was down $70 million compared with the same period the year before. During the earnings call at the time, Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey called out MySpace's poor performance and said "current losses are not acceptable or sustainable."