Criterion Capital Partners
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Internet |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Defunct | 2018 |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | United States Canada United Kingdom |
Key people | Christopher Lord (co-founder) David Riley |
| N/A | |
Number of employees | 3 (2010) |
| Website | criterioncp.com |
Criterion Capital Partners LLC, also known as simply Criterion, was a private equity fund based in Los Angeles, California.[2] It was best known for being the owner of Bebo, from 2010 to 2013.
History
Christopher Lord co-founded the company in 2002.[3][4] Criterion acquired social networking service Bebo in 2010. Bebo was previously owned by AOL, who originally purchased the service for $850 million in 2008.[5] The acquisition had failed as Bebo's business was declining. AOL sold the company for less than $10 million to Criterion.[6][7] Following the acquisition, Bebo's business did not improve. In April 2012, the minority shareholders filed a $5 million suit against Criterion for “destroying the site". Then in May, TechCrunch reported that Bebo filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[8][9]
In 2018, the Wall Street Journal reported that the company was shutting down.[10]
References
- ^ "Criterion Capital Management, LLC: Private Company Information - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
- ^ "Criterion Capital Partners LLC - Company Profile and News". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
- ^ Cheng, Evelyn (2017-10-04). "Criterion Capital founder likes Mercado Libre but is short iRobot". CNBC. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
- ^ "Christopher Hawkins Lord: Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
- ^ "The incredible life of Mike Birch, the Brit who sold Bebo for $850 million before buying it back for $1 million". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
- ^ Wauters, Robin. "Confirmed: Criterion Capital Partners Acquires Bebo From AOL". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
- ^ Helft, Miguel (2010-06-17). "AOL Sells Bebo Site to Criterion Capital Partners". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
- ^ Grant, Rebecca. "Bebo bargain: After selling to AOL for $850M in 2008, founders buy it back for ... $1M | VentureBeat". venturebeat.com. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
- ^ Lunden, Ingrid (May 10, 2013). "Social Network Bebo Has Filed A Voluntary Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Petition". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
- ^ Copeland, Rachael Levy and Rob. "Hedge Fund Criterion Capital to Shut Down After 16 Years". WSJ. Retrieved 2023-01-20.