CBS buys Last.fm for 140m

CBS Corporation has bought internet radio portal Last.fm for $280m (£140m). The deal is the latest is a series of moves by CBS to boost its online presence after its interactive division acquired Wallstrip.com and invested in Joost and Spot Runner.

The Last.fm management team, including founders Felix Miller, Martin Stiksel and Richard Jones, will continue to run the online network independently and will work with relevant CBS divisions to extend CBS businesses online and within the mobile space.

Last.fm, founded in 2002, has more than 15 million active users across the globe and enables them to create communities around music by bringing together listeners, artists and songs.

The portal builds a profile of each user’s musical taste and makes specific recommendations and connect users who share similar tastes. In addition, the site has an “Events” listing that can recommend more than 200,000 festivals and music events globally.