thearchivist.funBebo files for bankruptcy five years after AOL paid 850 million dollars
Bloomberg Law reported on 17 May 2013 that Bebo.com had filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. AOL had bought Bebo in March 2008 for 850 million dollars and later sold the site to Criterion Capital. The report gave the filing's numbers: liabilities in the range of 1 to 10 million dollars, the Internal Revenue Service as the largest unsecured creditor at 380,000 dollars, and trade debt of 413,617 dollars including 120,900 owed to AOL. Criterion Capital and an associate claimed 317,000 dollars in management fees, which was disputed. The docket link in the article points to 9 May 2013, which is probably the filing date.
Context and provenance
The report does not state a cause for the bankruptcy, and this record makes no claim about one.
The contrast between the 2008 price and the 2013 liabilities is a matter of arithmetic from two reports, not an explanation. A reader who wants to know why Bebo declined needs a source that addresses that question directly, such as an account by someone who ran it.
For the bankruptcy, the primary document is the court docket. This record relies on a news report that points to it, so a careful follow-up retrieves the petition itself and checks the date, the case number and the creditor figures. Keep the 850 million dollar purchase price attributed to the reporting as well.
Transmission timeline
- 2008-03
AOL buys Bebo for 850 million dollars.
- 2013-05-09
Probable filing date, inferred from the docket link in the article.
- 2013-05-17
Bloomberg Law reports the Chapter 11 petition.
Why it matters
A social network bought for a very large sum ended in a small-scale bankruptcy filing a few years later.
What remains uncertain
The filing date is inferred. No cause for the bankruptcy is stated.
Sources and evidence
- Bloomberg Law: Bebo.com, once bought by AOL for $850 million, files Chapter 11
Chapter 11 filing, March 2008 purchase price, sale to Criterion Capital, the creditor and liability figures.
Editorial review: 2026-10-22. New evidence may change this account.