The moment of truth is approaching for Quepasa (AMEX: QPSA).
Will the struggling networking site for Latinos pull off its acquisition of the much larger parent of myYearbook?
In an SEC filing last night, Quepasa singled out two of its board members that have agreed to resign if the deal is completed -- making room for the three new members that would be added from myYearbook's Insider Guides.
In other words, the deal is apparently still on track.
The market initially applauded the merger, originally valued at $100 million in cash and new stock. However, Quepasa's cascading share price and slippery fundamentals in recent weeks have raised doubts about the deal's completion by the end of the year.
Quepasa didn't help its case with another profitless quarterly report in August, as revenue slipped 17% sequentially to a mere $1.8 million. Insider Guides, on the other hand, is a social discovery star that generated $4.9 million in EBITDA on $23.7 million in revenue last year.
Would Insider Guides wake up and realize that it's too good for Quepasa?
Luckily for Quepasa, the same factors that have pounded its shares since July's merger announcement have dinged up the other publicly traded social networking sites. China's Renren (NYSE: RENN) is trading for a little more than a third of its earlier IPO price. Both AOL (NYSE: AOL) and News Corp. (Nasdaq: NWSA) have dumped social networking websites this year that they acquired at nine-figure prices a few years ago. LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD) is the rare bird holding up well, but the IPO spigot has been twisted shut. It's not as if Insider Guides could leave Quepasa at the altar and go public on its own anytime soon. In other words, Quepasa needs Insider Guides to be profitable, viable, and relevant. Insider Guides needs Quepasa because other capital-raising opportunities have been sealed shut.
Both companies continue to go through the wedding preparations. Quepasa secured the financing for the cash component last week. Quepasa and Insider Guides reaffirmed their union -- with slightly tweaked terms -- three weeks ago.
Whether it's a marriage of convenience or a shotgun wedding at this point, it just needs to happen.
Is Quepasa going to be able to pull off its merger with myYearbook? Share your thoughts in the comment box below. Add Quepasa to My Watchlist to stay on top of its transformative merger.
