Criterion Capital Partners

Criterion Capital Partners LLC, also known as simply Criterion, was a private equity fund based in Los Angeles, California.[2] It was best known for being the owner of Bebo, from 2010 to 2013.

Criterion Capital Partners LLC.
TypePrivate
IndustryInternet
Founded2002
Defunct2018 (2018)
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
,
U.S.
Area served
United States
Canada
United Kingdom
Key people
Christopher Lord
(co-founder)

David Riley
(co-founder)
Tomoko Fortune
Louis Chang
Matt Perona
(director of finance)
Jeffrey Pisani
(director of operations)
Sara Parr
(director of investor relations)
Adam Levin (Bebo)
(CEO)

[1]
N/A
Number of employees
3 (2010)
Websitecriterioncp.com

History

Christopher Lord co-founded the company in 2002.[3][4] Criterion acquired social networking service Bebo in 2010. Bebo was previously owned by AOL, who originally purchased the service for $850 million in 2008.[5] The acquisition had failed as Bebo's business was declining. AOL sold the company for less than $10 million to Criterion.[6][7] Following the acquisition, Bebo's business did not improve. In April 2012, the minority shareholders filed a $5 million suit against Criterion for “destroying the site". Then in May, TechCrunch reported that Bebo filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[8][9]

In 2018, the Wall Street Journal reported that the company was shutting down.[10]

References
  1. "Criterion Capital Management, LLC: Private Company Information - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  2. "Criterion Capital Partners LLC - Company Profile and News". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  3. Cheng, Evelyn (2017-10-04). "Criterion Capital founder likes Mercado Libre but is short iRobot". CNBC. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
  4. "Christopher Hawkins Lord: Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
  5. "The incredible life of Mike Birch, the Brit who sold Bebo for $850 million before buying it back for $1 million". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  6. Wauters, Robin. "Confirmed: Criterion Capital Partners Acquires Bebo From AOL". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  7. Helft, Miguel (2010-06-17). "AOL Sells Bebo Site to Criterion Capital Partners". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  8. Grant, Rebecca. "Bebo bargain: After selling to AOL for $850M in 2008, founders buy it back for ... $1M | VentureBeat". venturebeat.com. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  9. Lunden, Ingrid (May 10, 2013). "Social Network Bebo Has Filed A Voluntary Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Petition". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  10. Copeland, Rachael Levy and Rob. "Hedge Fund Criterion Capital to Shut Down After 16 Years". WSJ. Retrieved 2023-01-20.


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