Another misquote around Rediff, the second since the iShare launch: this time HT quotes “Investment banking sources” that Google and Yahoo are in talks to acquire the company. A Rediff spokesperson tells me that the HT reporter never got in touch with the company, and that the story is baseless. They’ll be issuing an official statement soon. The HT story is based on the Barrons report (subscription reqd) which says:

“Rumors of a takeover of Rediff have been stoked by interest expressed by both Google and Yahoo! in making Indian acquisitions, and Gilford Securities believes other suitors may surface”

So Barrons doesn’t even mention that Google and Yahoo are in talks specifically with Rediff. Earlier there were reports of an India listing for Rediff, and though CEO Ajit Balakrishnan had clearly (on TV) denied that a timeline had been set for the IPO - subsequent reports (apart from ours) had said that listing is “imminent”. Speaking of Ajit Balakrishnan, he’s uploaded his first video on iShare. (The video didn’t work for me with Firefox)

An official statement from Rediff CEO Ajit Balakrishnan:
“It’s completely untrue and this report was written without verifying with us if the speculation has any basis; there are no discussions of this nature going on. It is clearly an instance of a reporter’s over-active imagination on a slow news day and his editor not bothering to ask him if he has checked with the company concerned.”

• Barron’s Blows Out Air From Rediff And Sify
• On Rediff’s New Social Content Sharing Platform - Ishare
• Rediff Planning For An IPO In India?