The mobile industry is abuzz with speculation that Google is about to buy the Yelp mobile social media network, with many informed sources stating that the two companies have reached an advanced stage of negotiations.
One of the sources, the New York Times, reports that Google and Yelp have been in acquisition discussions for two months.
Should the deal go through, there is speculation that the purchase price could be as high as $500 million.
Yelp was founded in 2004 to let users post reviews on local businesses. Comscore research reveals that Yelp's worldwide traffic has reached nearly nine million unique visitors a month. Yelp itself claims closer to 25 million unique monthly visits.
Yelp has hinted that its revenues for 2009 will be about $30 million, and it is forecasting some $50 million in 2010.
