Xochi and Michael Birch launched Bebo in 2005 and sold the company three years later to AOL for $850m

It could be the bargain of the century or a triumph of hope over experience. The British founder of Bebo, the social network which briefly soared in the noughties, has bought back the company he originally sold for $850 million for just $1 million.

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Bebo Valdes in 2005, performing at the 10th International Jazz Festival in Uruguay

Bebo Valdes: Influential pianist and bandleader

Seen as part of the old society following the revolution in Cuba, he left the country for good

One in five children is victim of cyber-bullying – with girls targeted most

One in five young people has been a victim of cyber-bullying, which experts warn can cause more psychological damage than traditional forms of bullying.

SeeSaw bought by Bebo owner

A consortium led by Criterion, the US merchant bank that owns Bebo, is buying SeeSaw, the online video-on-demand service that evolved from Project Kangaroo.

Ex-Channel 4 boss bets on resurrection for Bebo

Bebo, once the UK's most popular social networking site, is relaunching with a new design and extra features that it hopes will reverse the decline in user numbers.

12-month ban for 'inappropriate' teacher

A teacher was banned from the classroom for one year today for inappropriate contact with teenage schoolgirls on the internet.

Facebook – king of the internet or the next MySpace?

Investors are putting millions into the social networking site, but will the risk be worth it? Laura Chesters reports

Postman jailed for child sex abuse

A paedophile postman who used Facebook and Bebo accounts to groom hundreds of children for sex was jailed for eight-and-a-half years yesterday.

Parents warned as paedophile postman is jailed

Parents were warned tonight that their children are not safe from paedophiles even in their own bedrooms as one of Britain's worst ever internet child sex abusers was jailed.

Stephen Foley: Bebo loads up its secret weapon

US Outlook: Bebo has a secret weapon in its effort to win teenagers back to the social networking site: Maxx Levin, 17-year-old brother of Bebo's new owner, the California entrepreneur Adam Levin. As you read this, Maxx is travelling the Far East wearing a Bebo cap and under instructions to tell everyone he meets to sign up.

Facebook gets more friends as 2009 revenues 'hit $900m'

The ubiquitous social networking website Facebook achieved revenues of $900m (£608m) in 2009, it was reported yesterday.

AOL to sell social network site Bebo

AOL will sell its Bebo social network site to private investment firm Criterion Capital Partners for an undisclosed sum, as it tries to restructure its business and deal with declining revenue.

Bought by AOL for $850m and sold for less than $10m, Bebo finds new owners

AOL has offloaded Bebo, the social networking site that once threatened the dominance of Facebook in the UK, for a tiny fraction of the $850m (£575m) it paid for the company two years ago.

James Moore: Bebo's blow-up offers lessons that Facebook must pay heed to

Outlook So bye-bye Bebo. If ever you needed confirmation that AOL has the reverse of the Midas touch, it's this deal. The former social networking phenomena that fancied itself as a rival to Facebook when the men with the minus touch came a calling with $850m less than two years ago, has been offloaded for a couple of quid, a packet of chewing gum and some football trading cards.

Postman admits internet grooming

A postman admitted grooming hundreds of children for sex over a five-year period, using social networking sites to prey on his victims.

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