Social news site Newsvine, which launched in March 2006, announced yesterday that it has been acquired by MSNBC.com, a fifty-fifty joint venture between Microsoft and NBC. Newsvine is notable for several exclusive scoops, including breaking the Virginia Tech Shootings 22 minutes before the AP. This will be MSNBC.com's first acquisition and the deal, which closed on October 5, was all cash, although the acquisition price has not been disclosed. Mike Davidson, the founder of Newsvine, said that the companies will continue operating separately but that technology integration will occur over time. In a company blog posting explaining the purchase, Newsvine stated that it hoped to be able to reach a much broader audience, expand its user community, and expand its staff (the company currently has six employees, compared to MSNBC's 200 plus). Newsvine reaches this liquidity event after having raised just $1.5 million in capital.
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