ContentNext, the company behind tech and media blog PaidContent may come on the market as parent company Guardian News and Media looks to cut costs and raise money.

The unconfirmed report at Daily Finance notes that Guardian News and Media “is losing so much money — £100,000 ($162,000) per day — that it may be forced to sell assets to raise cash, industry sources say. One property that could be in play is ContentNext, the U.S.-based web publisher of PaidContent.org.”

WebMediaBrands is mentioned as a possible buyer, with CEO Alan Meckler saying “I would certainly be interested in discussing it.”

It’s hard to envisage that PaidContent is cash flow negative, so selling it off is hardly going to fix long term cash flow at the Guardian. If things are as desperate as suggested though, non-core assets are usually the first to go, and ContentNext would be the top of that list. The sale price would be anyone’s guess: the company was acquired for $30 million in July 2008, right before the global financial crisis, so the price had a premium built in that might be difficult to obtain in a fire sale today.

Related posts:

1. PaidContent acquired for $30 million
2. PaidContent Expanding to Inside.com
3. Jupitermedia sells subsidiary to Getty Images for $96 million in cash

Rafat Ali is now working to relaunch Inside.com as part of the PaidContent network. Ali told Variety the domain will be used for “gaming and traditional media” coverage as part of an “overall expansion.”

The original Inside.com — founded by former editors of New York Magazine and Spin Magazine — came onto the scene in 2000 with the promise of all the insider info on the media and entertainment worlds. It charged about $20 a month for the service — but after spending millions on promotion and marketing, it failed to come close to its subscription goal and started a rapid downfall. It was purchased by Media Holdings in 2001 and saw its staff combined with the company’s Brill’s Content publication. Needless to say, things did not end well.

Ali worked at the original Inside.com as an intern prior to its 2001 sale, he told Variety. PaidContent Co-Editor Staci Kramer apparently worked there as well, as she mentions in this blog.

Ali’s own company, PaidContent, was bought by the Guardian Group for $30 million just last month. Ali says the plans to expand to Inside.com, however, started last year — before the acquisition.

As of now, the Inside.com domain points to the PaidContent site. Ali wasn’t immediately available to give us further specifics about the future plans or a timetable for the new site’s launch.

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Which Blog Will Be Next To Be Acquired?

% chance over time

    TechCrunch

    VentureBeat

    Silicon Alley Insider

    GigaOm

    Mashable

    ReadWriteWeb

    ValleyWag

    Center Networks

    Boing Boing

    The Inquisitr

Get this widget

Hubdub – The News Prediction Game

Online predictions market Hubdub has opened up a market on which blog will be acquired next after the news of PaidContent being acquired by The Guardian broke Friday.

Based on a report from Kara Swisher, one blog is out in front with a 50% rating. Nigel over at Hubdub though tells me that the smart money is on VentureBeat. Users rank the chances of The Inquisitr being acquired at the same level as ReadWriteWeb and Centernetworks, so we’re in good company.

Full details in the widget above, or if you’d like to make your prediction, visit Hubdub here.

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1. Hubdub Combines Social Voting, Gambling and Widgets
2. White is the new black in blog design
3. RWW dumps Alt Search Engines (update: RWW blog network shuts)

The buy out would be the largest price paid for a blog related concern since AOL acquired Weblogs Inc for a rumored $25-$30 million in 2006.

PaidContent is the largest site in the ContentNext network, with includes niche titles such as MocoNews, ContentSutra and PaidContent UK. The company also organizes conferences and publishes reports.

Although perhaps not the friendliest blogging concern, it’s always positive to see a large scale exit like this as it provides further proof of value in new media. With Ars having been acquired for Conde Naste in May for $25 million, I’m betting TechCrunch will be next, they’re all on the same level + these things often travel in threes

Related posts:

1. Report: PaidContent may come on the market as Guardian looks to raise cash
2. Internet Brands acquired four sites for $2.8 million in Qtr 4, and why you should care
3. PaidContent Expanding to Inside.com