Two months ago we reported that Viacom’s executives and lawyers were in London negotiating a deal to buy LastFM, the social music network. Although the deal has still no been announced, it is still going to happen, a reliable source told DealBreaker on Friday.* The purchase price is said to be $450 million.
Viacom has been expanding its online presence, notably entering into a revenue sharing deal with the Joost video service. Our source says that the LastFM deal is part of this strategy.
* Yes, this conversation took place in a bar on Friday night. But we’re told that we talk about our nightlife an awful lot, especially on Monday mornings. So we’re experimenting with toning down some of the atmospherics and reporting these stories straight, without the allusions to popular music or references to the pursuit of women and cocktails.