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Zynga, the company behind popular Facebook games such as FarmVille and CityVille, is in talks with potential investors to raise about $250 million, which would value the startup at $7 billion to $9 billion, according to a published report.
The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, said in a report Monday that a decision to raise money could be weeks away if it happens. Get the full story »
Twitter Inc. Chief Executive Dick Costolo said the microblogging service is “already making money,” but he did not immediately clarify whether he was referring to revenue or profit.
Costolo made his comments in a webcast keynote address at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but a subsequent Q&A period was not streamed on the Internet. Get the full story »
Roses for sale on FTD's Web site. (Screenshot)
Chicago-based online coupon site Groupon.com and Downers Grove-based flower company FTD Group Inc. are offering refunds after getting complaints that a Valentine’s Day flower deal wasn’t so sweet.
Both companies said they didn’t do anything wrong, but they responded to Internet complaints that FTD inflated prices for some Groupon customers who used a coupon for $20 off an FTD flower purchase of $40 or more.
The problem surfaced when several Groupon customers found the flowers they bought were priced lower as sale items on FTD’s own website. They complained on the Groupon site and the Internet that FTD was making up for the Groupon discount by jacking up the prices. Get the full story »
A day after Groupon offered $20 off of $40 worth of flowers and gifts from FTD, users are calling the deal a scam.
The coupon, which nearly 3,300 people bought, directed buyers to a special FTD website — FTD.com/groupon — to take advantage of the offer. The problem, users said, was that prices were higher than on the regular website, effectively diminishing the value of the deal. Get the full story »
Google Inc.’s YouTube is in talks to buy video producer Next New Networks, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Get the full story »
Hackers operating from China stole sensitive information from Western oil companies, a U.S. security firm reported Thursday, adding to complaints about pervasive Internet crime traced to the country.
The report by McAfee Inc. did not identify the companies but said the “coordinated, covert and targeted” attacks began in November 2009 and targeted computers of oil and gas companies in the United States, Taiwan, Greece and Kazakhstan. It said the attackers stole information on operations, bidding for oil fields and financing. Get the full story »
Itasca-based Aircell, a provider of in-flight Internet services, says it has raised an additional $35 million from its private-equity investors and management.
That brings its total raised since 2006 to more than $500 million. Its investors include Ripplewood Holdings and Blumenstein Thorne Information Partners.
Read the announcement.
byerak@tribune.com
Government regulators are planning to overhaul the $8 billion federal program that subsidizes telephone service in poor and rural areas to pay for high-speed Internet connections.
The Federal Communications Commission voted 5-0 Tuesday to begin drafting a blueprint to bring the federal program, the Universal Service Fund, into the digital age. Get the full story »
Chicago-based Orbitz Worldwide Inc. said on Monday that it has renewed its agreement with airfare software provider ITA Software through the end of 2015. Get the full story »
Crain’s Chicago Business and the Chicago Reader each announced the appointment of new top editorial executives on Monday.
Jim Kirk, who has been managing editor of the non-profit Chicago News Cooperative for the last nine months, is joining Crain’s as chief of editorial operations, beginning Feb. 24. The new top editorial post will have him overseeing Crain’s growing number of content-based businesses. The Chicago Reader reported Mara Shalhoup, editor of parent Creative Loafing’s alternative weekly in Atlanta, will be its next editor, effective Mar. 7.
Google and European Union regulators are in tentative talks to resolve an antitrust probe against the Internet’s dominant search engine, a source familiar with the case said Monday.
A deal could avert a lengthy battle and possible fine for the U.S.-based company. Get the full story »
