Mail.com Media Corporation (MMC), the owner of OnCars, Deadline.com, Movieline.com and Boy Genius Report, has sold its Mail.com e-mail service and domain to United Internet AG, a multi-billion dollar German Internet service provider and telecom giant. Our sources say the web property was sold for between $50 and $100 million.
In its announcement, Los Angeles-based MMC said that it has entered a "strategic partnership" with United Internet AG. As part of the agreement, MMC will remain the "primary global content provider for the Mail.com portal" despite its sale. Mail.com e-mail users will eventually be transferred over to GMX Mail, a subsidiary of United Internet AG. While they'll get to keep their e-mail addresses, the GMX interface and platform will replace the current Mail.com platform.
The two companies have also agreed to work together to launch properties in international markets, starting with Germany and India.
You may be wondering: What will happen to MMC? After all, you can't really keep Mail.com in your company's name if you don't even own it. MMC realizes this and promises to share a "new corporate identity" in the coming weeks. In other words, the company is going to change its branding to reflect its focus on publishing digital content from its subsidiaries.