Social network Bebo, based in San Francisco but bigger overseas, has hired a bank and is looking to sell, a source tells VentureBeat. A Bebo spokesperson, however, says the social network is just looking to get more funding. Judging by Compete's domestic numbers, now might be a good time for the social network to sell. The site has grown over 50 percent since November 2006, but growth has turned flat since the start of fall.

Federal Trade Commission regulators voted 4-1 to approve the Google-DoubleClick merger. According to the WSJ, the commission ruled that the deal is "unlikely to substantially lessen competition." Google announced the merger eight months ago, but antitrust and privacy concerns brought by Microsoft slowed the deal in Washington. In the end, Microsoft, with its $500 million Viacom deal as well as its $240 million investment in Facebook, likely convinced regulators that the online-advertising business is as competitive as Google always argued.

While NBC Universal and News Corp. keep Hulu, their online-video joint venture, under invitation-only wraps, OpenHulu, an independent website which appears to be legally embedding Hulu videos, is actually starting to earn some cash. Not only that, but it's getting a little attention from potential buyers, too. Not bad for just copying and pasting chunks of HTML code.

At last, an explanation for the renewed rumors of a Digg sale. Digg has hired Allen & Co., the boutique investment bank which specializes in media deals, according to VentureBeat. Which makes sense, since Digg CEO Jay Adelson got an invite to this year's exclusive Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley. The wave of buzz about a Digg sale is likely explained by Allen bankers' discreet inquiries. The company, as we'd heard, is seeking a price tag of $300 million. One possible acquirer, IAC, which had previously expressed interest but has backed off before. One reason for the renewed interest now: We hear that Barry Diller's online conglomerate is secretly working with Digg on some kind of project — possibly a white-label version of Digg's social news site. (Photo by Lane Hartwell)

Local.com CEO and chairman Heath Clarke and several other top executives acquired over 500,000 shares in the company, according to SEC filings. Clarke alone acquired nearly 67,500 shares at $4.74, the price set on Friday's close. The filings follows weeks of rumors that a major search player would soon acquire Local.com, and would certainly make it easier for insiders to profit. But one industry source told me its as likely as not the rumors started with insiders at Local.com itself. That's something the SEC may want to take a glance at. But with or without Local.com's help, the local-search market continues to boom.

One-time DVR pioneer ReplayTV has been sold to DirecTV. This follows competitor EchoStar's purchase of Sling Media back in September. The most interesting question is what happens to TiVo now.

A Reaganesque landslide: Dow Jones shareholders voted 60 percent in favor of Rupert Murdoch's purchase of the company which publishes the Wall Street Journal. The Bancroft family, split as always on the deal, tendered 54 percent of their supervoting shares to approve the deal, while an overwhelming 78 percent of common stock was voted in favor. Murdoch has already started replacing execs at Dow Jones, and News Corp. takes formal control tomorrow. (Photo by AP/Evan Vucci)

Two consumer advocacy groups say FTC chairman Deborah Platt Majoras has no place judging the merit of their privacy complaints stemming from the proposed merger of Google and DoubleClick. Majoras's husband, John M. Majoras, works as an antitrust lawyer at Jones Day. DoubleClick is a firm client. That's a conflict of interest, say the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Center for Digital Democracy.

Congratulations, Andrew Conru: Danni Ashe is now your coworker. As the porn-magazine business quietly biodegrades in the ashbin of history, the founder of Adult FriendFinder has sold his company, Various Inc., to Penthouse for $500 million. This despite his earlier denials. The price actually seems low, considering Various's projected revenues this year of $340 million. But the porn business has always suffered from a market discount, as distaste thins the ranks of willing investors. FriendFinder's troubles with the Federal Trade Commission, settled one day before the sale was closed last Friday, can't have helped. What's next for Adult FriendFinder's new owner?

Dick Costolo used to be CEO of FeedBurner, a Chicago startup which publishes RSS feeds for websites. But then FeedBurner got acquired by Google. Now Costolo's got a "significant title" at Google, though, as he explains in this you video, "you can't tell by the words in it." Even before FeedBurner, Costolo used to work the standup mic. Here's the best Woody Allen impression you've ever seen. Laugh it up, fellow Googlers, but remember, there's truth in jest. How does Costolo really feel about Google? He posted the video to his blog using Tumblr and Vimeo, not the Google-owned Blogger and YouTube.

When last we heard from L.A. entrepreneuse Patricia Handschiegel, she was unloading $25,000 worth of surplus fashion. Now she's unloaded considerably more: Her company, StyleDiary.net. StyleHive, which recently raised $2.6 million in venture capital, spent a healthy chunk of that funding on Handschiegel's site. StyleHive applies the concept of social bookmarking — automated sharing of one's favorites with friends — and applies it to fashion. That it felt the need to acquire Handschiegel's StyleDiary, which mixes user-submitted fashion shots with a more traditional editorial approach, suggests that when it comes to style, software isn't everything.

"It would be sweet if it were true," demurred porn baron Andrew Conru, when we asked if the Palo Alto porn baron had sold FriendFinder Inc., the parent company of porn-laden classifieds site Adult FriendFinder. Sweet indeed, then. Multiple sources have told us Various was sold on Friday, and one confirms that Penthouse is the buyer. A tipster says that there's an all-hands meeting today at 2 p.m. to inform employees of "exciting times ahead for all." Anyone want to head down to the Cinemark theater in Palo Alto to find out and tell us? After the jump, the email to employees.

Hewlett-Packard has acquired Israeli printer manufacturer NUR Macroprinters for $117.5 million. This is HP's second purchase in three months of an industrial printer maker, a sign that HP may be hedging its bets on the consumer side of the printing business. [WSJ]

VeriFone, a maker of credit-card readers, wants to acquire biometric payments firm Pay By Touch, according to Pay By Touch court filings obtained by BusinessWeek. Or at least VeriFone at one time expressed in interest in such a deal. But that was probably before December 3, when the company announced it would restate earnings, citing inventory-accounting problems and then watched its share prices drop 46 percent. No deal? That would be a shame. A company that can't count its inventory buying a company that can't pay for its inventory. Sounds like a perfect match.

Barry Diller's IAC began talks to acquire Flixster, but then dropped the idea as soon as the two-year-old, 17-employee company priced itself at $150 million, according to Boom Town. And it seems IAC isn't the only one saying no. Execs from Viacom's MTV Networks gave Flixster a look, but also decided the price was too high. Flixster's Facebook application, Movies, claims 804,748 daily active users, a milestone achieved with just $2 million in funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners. So what's keeping buyers so shy, besides the lofty price?

LinkedIn CEO Dan Nye, touring New York to brief journalists on embargoed news we already reported, told CNET that LinkedIn's backers have "great confidence in our independent path." CNET takes this for code that the rumored News Corp deal is off. Nah. It's just good negotiating. LinkedIn still may not sell, but if it does, Nye's billion-dollar posturing will ensure the site isn't sold cheap. It's a lesson some overeager startup flippers should take to heart.

1 down, 19 to go. Last week, Disney execs Leigh Zarelli and Matt Pillar promised they'd acquire 20 startups in the consumer space over the next 24 months. Today the House of Mouse announced it had acquired iParenting Media, an advice and community site for parents and soon-to-be parents. What can loyal users expect?

News Corp will acquire Beliefnet, a portal for the spiritually inclined, FishbowlNY reports. Word from Silicon Alley Insider is that Peter Levinsohn, News Corp.'s Fox Interactive Media head honcho, didn't make the move. Instead, Fox Digital Media topper Dan Fawcett pulled the trigger. That group markets Fox movies and TV shows online. Wait a second: Shouldn't the digital operation inside HarperCollins have done this deal instead? Sure, it's another redundant interactive arm of News Corp., but HarperCollins is one of the world's largest Bible publishers. (Photo by tanakawho)

The Federal Trade Commission will approve Google's $3.1 billion DoubleClick acquisition as early as next week, a lawyer involved in the merger told Tech Confidential. Microsoft had led the charge against the merger, claiming it would give Google control over 80 percent of online advertising. And, even though Google's merger will soon go through, it's hard not to credit Microsoft for slowing Google down.

Michael Toutonghi left Microsoft's nest in 2004 and eventually founded Vizrea, a mobile photo- and video-sharing site in 2006. Despite $4 million in funding, that didn't really go anywhere. Oops! Turns out little birdie wasn't quite so ready fly. So what's an exposed wantrepreneur to do?