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When it comes to social networking, Friendster is undoubtedly the grand daddy-o of the lot. Predating Facebook and MySpace, Friendster has been around since 2001 and is touted as one of the “original” social media sites on the web. Yesterday, Malaysian company MOL Global acquired 100% of Friendster for an undisclosed amount that’s rumored to be in the region of US$100 million.

The acquisition move isn’t exactly a shocking one per se, as MOL is currently powering Friendster’s micro-payment platform called Friendster Wallet, and has been linked with a possible takeover ever since. When coupled with MOL’s network of payment platforms nationwide (both online and offline), the move does make sense - but only if MOL can revive Friendster to it’s former glory.

Over the years, Friendster has pretty much lost most of it’s popularity in the Western world, but has thrived in Asian countries like the Philippines. Boasting over 115 million registered users, and more than 100,000 new registrations per day, Friendster sure has the potential to be a cash cow - so much so that Ganesh Kumar Bangah, chief executive officer of MOL Global Ltd, told reporters that he expected the merger to generate US$110 million per year.

Well, we’re not clairvoyant, so there’s no telling how this acquisition will eventually turn out. All we can do now is wait and see. How typical!