MySpace is Officially For Sale

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News Corp earlier hinted that it might be planning to put MySpace on the auction block. It has recently started the formal sale process for the buy-out, spin-off or acquisition of the ailing social networking site.

According to reports, News Corp has already received interest from about 20 parties, and is expecting offers from other companies interested in buying out MySpace. Formal discussions start by mid-March. To help with the process, News Corp has hired investment bank Allen & Co to underwrite a possible deal.

Interested parties mostly include venture capitalists, but some mobile and social networking sites like Zynga and MocoSpace are likely to also express interest, as a MySpace acquisition will likely to be a strategic move for their respective businesses.

News Corp acquired MySpace for $580 million in 2005, and tried to revive the social network through various means, like repositioning it as a social entertainment site. However, the efforts seemed to be in vain, given tough competition from fast-riser Facebook, among others.