Will Ferrell's 'Funny Or Die' Seeks Up to $300 Million in Possible Sale The comedy site has hired a financial adviser to field unsolicited offers, CEO Dick Glover wrote in a memo to employees.
By Geoff Weiss
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Funny or Die, the Will Ferrell-founded comedy site known for bold-faced cameos from President Obama, James Franco and more, may be the next hot property on the online video auction block.
The company has hired a financial adviser to possibly evaluate a sale, wrote CEO Dick Glover in a memo to employees. Bloomberg, which first reported the news, pegged an asking price at anywhere between $100 and $300 million, citing sources.
Glover's memo contained the same ironic tone that has resulted in skyrocketing viewership on Funny Or Die's own website, its YouTube channel and a handful of productions for traditional TV networks, including HBO and TBS.
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"We've received unsolicited interest from a number of companies," Glover wrote. "We are NOT trying to sell Funny or Die, but we thought it wise to engage some experts to help us evaluate the situation. In the meantime, if any of you mistakenly receive a briefcase full of cash, please bring it to my office immediately."
However, Bloomberg reports that Funny or Die is working with investment bank Moelis & Co. to contact potential buyers "to gauge their interest in a deal."
Funny Or Die is eyeing a sale at a time when other online video properties are being scooped up at a rapid -- and highly lucrative -- rate. Most recently, AT&T and the Chernin Group bought a majority stake in leading YouTube network Fullscreen. And in what is perhaps the largest deal of its kind, Fullscreen adversary Maker Studios was acquired by Disney for $950 million in March.
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