Disney's $350 million purchase of Club Penguin was a steal

When last we heard about this deal, Sony was going to buy Club Penguin for $450 million. Now, Disney has made the deal happen for $350 million to purchase, with a performance bonus of another $350 million if the owners meet some aggressive goals.

We had recommended that Club Pengin talk to Disney and Neopets-owner Viacom to try to sweeten the deal, and it sounds like they did just that. But mark my words, if they play their cards right, this deal is going to look as cheap as News Corp's purchase of MySpace.com in a few years.

Oh, and if Ganz Corporation ever wanted to take WebKinz.com public, they should be talking to those same conglomerates. Pre-teen Internet sites are about to become much more valuable properties.

And to the three Dads who founded Club Penguin: congratulations. If there were a list of people who deserved to get rich from bringing kids joy, these guys were at the top of the list. Don't let Disney change a thing.

Technorati Tags: Club Penguin, Disney, Ganz, Neopets, Viacom, WebKinz