Now it is confirmed that About.com has been sold to IAC. This is a $300 million acquisition which includes About.com, ConsumerSearch.com and CalorieCount.com. Initially, about.com was owned by The New York Times which has bought about.com back in 2005 for $410 million.
Answers.com was also in the fight to buy about.com but its price was lower than the bid made by IAC. Answers.com wanted about.com for $270 million which was lower than the bid made by IAC.
About.com is ranked 80 in world and 37 in US by alexa and contains articles about various things. About.com is facing the effects of Google’s algorithm changes which has reduced the traffic and revenue both. Now about.com is hard to find in search results for various search terms for which it was on the top.
Press Release
The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) has entered into an agreement to sell its About Group, which includes the Web sites of About.com, ConsumerSearch.com and CalorieCount.com, to IAC (NASDAQ: IACI) for $300 million in cash. The all cash transaction is expected to close in the next several weeks. The Company intends to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes.
“About.com has been a strong contributor to our company since its acquisition in 2005,” said Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., chairman, The New York Times Company. “About’s early expertise in search engine optimization, expert content and revenues from cost-per-click and display advertising made it a valuable component of our portfolio for the past seven years. This sale will allow the Times Company to focus on the development and growth of our core brands locally, nationally and on a global scale.”
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include risks detailed from time to time in The New York Times Company’s publicly filed documents, including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 25, 2011. The New York Times Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
About The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading global, multimedia news and information company with 2011 revenues of $2.3 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, NYTimes.com, BostonGlobe.com, Boston.com, About.com and related properties. The Company’s core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news and information.
