Facebook might have wanted to buy German clone instead of suing it to oblivion

In late 2006, Facebook was rumored to be looking to acquire StudiVZ — the German social network that's 10 times the size of Facebook's German edition. In the middle of the sales talks, StudiVZ sold to Holtzbrinck Group, a Germany publishing giant, for up to $134 million. Holtzbrinck then offered the site back to Facebook for a hefty markup. Facebook balked filed suit instead, claiming that StudiVZ's site was a nearly indistinguishable doppelgänger. [PaidContent]