The Pirate Bay sold for $7.8 Million!
(4161 reads, 24 replies, 2 years ago)
Quote:
The Pirate Bay has been purchased and is perhaps looking to go legit. Software company Global Gaming Factory X AB has shelled out approximately US$7.8 million for the site.
The acquisition appears to be the first step into turning The Pirate Bay into a legal site. The Stockholm-based piracy site is a peer-to-peer server which made video games, movies and music available for "sharing" among users. Swedish police previously raided the The Pirate Bay and those connected to the site, and the ensuing trial against the BitTorrent site's founder resulted in a guilty verdict.
According to Hans Pandeya, CEO of Sweden's Global Gaming Factory, "We would like to introduce models which entail that content providers and copyright owners get paid for content that is downloaded via the site."
Pandeya adds that while The Pirate Bay is one of the top 100 most visited sites on the entire internet, it needs to change. "In order to live on, The Pirate Bay requires a new business model, which satisfies the requirements and needs of all parties, content providers, broadband operators, end users, and the judiciary," says the GGF exec. "Content creators and providers need to control their content and get paid for it." What's more, Pandeya adds, file sharers need "faster downloads and better quality".
According to a statement from The Pirate Bay, "If the new owners will screw around with the site, nobody will keep using it. That's the biggest insurance one can have that the site will be run in the way that we all want to."
Global Gaming Factory X AB will acquire The Pirate Bay this August.
News reached the press today in Sweden - The Pirate Bay might get aquired by Global Gaming Factory X AB.
A lot of people are worried. We're not and you shouldn't be either!
TPB is being sold for a great bit underneath it's value if the money would be the interesting part. It's not. The interesting thing is that the right people with the right attitude and possibilities keep running the site.
As all of you know, there's not been much news on the site for the past two-three years. It's the same site essentially. On the internets, stuff dies if it doesn't evolve. We don't want that to happen.
We've been working on this project for many years. It's time to invite more people into the project, in a way that is secure and safe for everybody. We need that, or the site will die. And letting TPB die is the last thing that is allowed to happen!
If the new owners will screw around with the site, nobody will keep using it. That's the biggest insurance one can have that the site will be run in the way that we all want to. And - you can now not only share files but shares with people. Everybody can indeed be the owner of The Pirate Bay now. That's awesome and will take the heat of us.
The old crew is still around in different ways. We will also not stop being active in the politics of the internets - quite the opposite. Now we're fueling up for going into the next gear. TPB will have economical muscles to let people evolve it. It will team up with great technicians to evolve the protocols. And we, the people interested in more than just technology, will have the time to focus on that. It's win-win-win.
The profits from the sale will go into a foundation that is going to help with projects about freedom of speech, freedom of information and the openess of the nets. I hope everybody will help out in that and realize that this is the best option for all. Don't worry - be happy!
As an addendum, here is the press release from Global Gaming Factory:
Stockholm 2009 June 30
Acquisitions of The Pirate Bay and new file - sharing technology,
p2p 2.0
- Pave the way for compensation model
The listed software company, Global Gaming Factory X AB (publ) (GGF)
acquires The Pirate Bay website, thepiratebay, one of the 100
most visited websites in the world and the technology company Peerialism,
that has developed next generation file-sharing technology. Following the
completion of the acquisitions, GGF intends to launch new business models
that allow compensation to the content providers and copyright owners. The
responsibility for, and operation of the site will be taken over by GGF in
connection with closing of the transaction, which is scheduled for August
2009.
"We would like to introduce models which entail that content providers and
copyright owners get paid for content that is downloaded via the site, " said
Hans Pandeya, CEO GGF.
”The Pirate Bay is a site that is among the top 100 most visited Internet sites in the
world. However, in order to live on, The Pirate Bay requires a new business
model, which satisfies the requirements and needs of all parties, content
providers, broadband operators, end users, and the judiciary. Content creators
and providers need to control their content and get paid for it. File sharers ´need
faster downloads and better quality, " continues Hans Pandeya.
GGF acquires domain names and related web sites, including thepiratebay. The consideration for the purchase amounts to MSEK
60 consisting of at least MSEK 30 in cash and up to the equivalent of MSEK 30 in
the form of newly issued shares in GGF (according to valuation in connection with
the completion of the acquisition). The stock share of the purchase price is
expected to be equivalent to a maximum of three per cent of the total number of
outstanding shares of GGF after the acquisition. In the case that three percent of
the shares is not equivalent to 30 MSEK, the major shareholder of GGF has
declared that he will contribute the equivalent in cash.
GGF has entered into an agreement to acquire the shares in Peerialism AB.
Peerialism AB is a software technology company with its origin in KTH Royal
Institute of Technology and SICS, Swedish Institute of Computer Science and
which presently is owned by the employees. The owners as well as the employees
will continue to work for the company. Peerialism develops solutions for data
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distribution and distributed storage based on new p2p- technology. The access to
the technology is secured by the acquisition. The consideration amounts to in
aggregate MSEK 100 consisting of at least MSEK 50 in cash and up to the
equivalent of MSEK 50 in newly issued shares in GGF (according to valuation
during a period of ten days after the announcement). The share part of the
purchase price should not exceed five percent of the total number of shares in
GGF after the transaction. In addition GGF has undertaken to make initial
investments of MSEK 25 in the acquired business.
“Peerialism has developed a new data distribution technology which now can be
introduced on the best known file - sharing site, The Pirate Bay. Since the
technology is compatible with the existing it will quickly allow for new values to be
created for all key stakeholders and facilitate new business opportunities”, says
Johan Ljungberg, CEO Peerialism.
Completion of the acquisitions are primarily subject to GGF obtaining financing for
the acquisition, that any necessary resolutions are adopted by a General Meeting
of GGF, and that GGF and the Board of Directors consider that the acquired
assets can be used in a legally and appropriate way. GGF intends to issue new
shares in order to obtain the necessary financing for the acquisition. The
acquisition is deemed to be completed in August 2009. In connection therewith,
the ownership of, and responsibility for, the acquired assets will be transferred to
GGF.
“As a result of the acquisitions of The Pirate Bay and Peerialism, GGF will have a
strategic position in the international digital distribution market. File sharing traffic
is estimated to account for more than half of today's global Internet traffic. The
Pirate Bay has a global brand and holds a key position with over 20 million visitors
and over one billion page views per month," says Hans Pandeya.
For further information, pls contact:
(REMOVED ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER)
A Press briefing will be held on June 30th 2009 at 11.00 at Spårvägshallarna,
Birger Jarlsgatan 57 A, Stockholm.
Global Gaming Factory X AB (publ) has been listed on Aktietorget since 2006
GGFX has the largest network of Internet cafés and game centers and provides
software. GGFX thus has access to the largest group of games players on the
Internet. The company's principal shareholders are Magnus Bergman (Chairman),
3
Hans Pandeya, (CEO) and Johan Sellström, (CTO) (for more details see attached
CV and globalgamingfactory).
The Pirate Bay is one of the 100 most visited Internet sites in the world and one of
the leading search engines for file sharing. The site has more than 20 million
visitors and over one billion searches per month.
Peerialism AB develops solutions to transport and store data over Internet based
on new p2p technologies. The solutions are capable of large scale media
distribution with clear advantages over existing solutions; it makes better use of
networks resources whilst reducing ISP traffic and significantly lowering the cost of
media distribution. The technology has its origin from research projects within
SICS (Swedish Institute for Computer Science) and KTH (Kungliga Tekniska
Högskolan). The head of research at SICS, Seif Haridi who also is a professor at
KTH will continue to be advisor to Peerialism.The company was founded in 2007
and has 14 employees and is based in Stockholm (more information
peerialism, sics,kth).
Background
The market for the consumption and distribution of digital media is characterised
by a complex landscape of both national and international legislation with difficult
conflicts between different areas of law – not least in balancing copyright law and
rights of privacy. This has led to a widespread global debate among opinion-
makers, politicians, academics, the general public and business people.
In addition to the responsibilities of the individual Internet user, the responsibility
for user-generated material is diversely allocated between different market
participants and may also vary from country to country. However, both U.S. and
European law place certain obligations on Internet Service Providers (ISP) and on
Information Society Service Providers (ISSP) to prevent the distribution of
unauthorised or illegal material. Time consuming legislative work and costly
litigation are taking place in all parts of the world as a result of the demands posed
by the technological evolution on the rules that are to apply.
All market participants, e.g. technology and broadband providers, various service
providers, search engines and rights’ holders would all benefit from a clearer legal
landscape that enables safe investments and the continued evolution of the
information society. GGF wants to accept the challenge to position itself as a
respectable participant in the market and contribute to Internet’s infrastructure,
with the goal to establish working models for co-operation and a clear allocation of
responsibilities on market terms, respecting both intellectual property rights and
the rights of privacy.
Below you can find a selection of links related to the discussion;
(EDITED)
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CV – Global Gaming Factory X AB
Hans Chandra Pandeya, CEO
St. Columba's School, New Delhi, MSc Engineering Physics, Royal Institute of
Technology, KTH, Sweden and MBA Harvard Business School.
Co-founder of Bargain Pages, an advertising paper for free ads in Birmingham,
UK. Sold to one of the biggest classifieds publishers in Europe.
Co-founder of Ad-Mag, advertising papers for free ads in India.
Co-founder of advertising papers for free ads in Australia. Sold to John MacBain's
Trader Classified Media, the biggest classifieds publisher in the world.
CEO of Interline Networks, an Internet telephony network in Sydney, Australia.
Launched a web phone for free phone calls in 2000.
Founder and owner of Unika Bostäder AB, a property developer in Stockholm,
Sweden.
Worked with advertising papers, IT companies, and property development for
17 years.
Johan Sellström, Technical Director
MSc Engineering Physics, Royal Institue of Technology, (KTH) Sweden.
Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Icon Medialab, one of the biggest IT
consultancy firms in Europe.
Analytical methods and implementation, Aeronautical Institue of Sweden, SAAB
Military Aircraft, Volvo.
Magnus Bergman, Chairman
MSc in Aeronautics, Royal Institue of Technology, (KTH) Sweden, PhD in Physics,
Institute National Polytechnique, Toulouse, France.
Co-founder and CEO of Parallel Consulting Group AB that was sold to Icon
Medialab in 1999.
Former Director of Icon Medialab.
Co-founder and CEO of Cross Connect Network Group AB.
Chairman of Mobispine AB, Efield AB, CrossVenture Capital AB.
More than 20 years of experience in development of IT companies in the areas of
parallell computing, advanced computer technology, IT security, application
interfaces, communication and methodology.
found this on kotaku when I was looking for the release date of Marvel vs Capcom 2 D:
The Pirate Bay has been purchased and is perhaps looking to go legit. Software company Global Gaming Factory X AB has shelled out approximately US$7.8 million for the site.
Looks like a bad business choice. They must have some exceptionally good ideas if they want to make the site THAT profitable. As long as free content is available other places, I don't see people paying for it. Good luck with it though.
Nothing is more discouraging than unappreciated sarcasm.
the current owner were found guilty of copyright violation and were fined approx 3-4 million USD. So i guess they really have to pay up, the only way is to sell TPB and move on to other 'project'
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