Will iVillage's sale to a bigger player be one of the consolidation plays for this end of the year?
Reuters and others are posting reports that women's portal iVillage has--or is about to--put itself up for sale for $700MM, give or take.
The analyst quoted in the Reuters story imagines Yahoo or AOL buying the service, ideas I think are very remote possibilities--
After all, Yahoo just hired a former AOL women's channel GM to run their health and wellness portal, and I just don't see AOL making that kind of spend.
On the other hand, a media/newspaper conglomerate with some cash (are there any left?) who wants to bump up their ad inventory might be one prospect (News Corp? Viacom? Part owner Hearst?)
IMHO, Best prospect-- MSN, who could afford to roll up iVillage and acquire a chunk of AOL and go to battle against the portal guys Yahoo and Google--and if they don't get AOL, iVillage could be a tasty consolation prize.