IAC Announces the Acquisition of Urbanspoon
IAC (NASDAQ:IACI) today announced the acquisition of Urbanspoon, a leading online local restaurant guide that aggregates restaurant reviews from across the web, from newspapers and professional food critics to bloggers and diners.
Urbanspoon will remain an independent brand and a wholly-owned business of IAC, and will report to Jay Herratti who oversees Citysearch, InsiderPages and Evite. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
For IAC, Urbanspoon rounds out a portfolio of premium local brands which include Citysearch, ServiceMagic, InsiderPages, and strategic investments in OpenTable and MerchantCircle. With a wealth of trusted restaurant content, an avid user community, and a leading iPhone application, the acquisition of Urbanspoon will further solidify IAC's leadership role in the local space. Integrating Urbanspoon's content across IAC's local sites, including Citysearch and InsiderPages, further reiterates IAC's commitment to building a robust infrastructure of local content for consumers all across the web.
"With a dedicated and comprehensive focus on restaurants, Urbanspoon is a pioneer in the online and mobile space with a truly unique, innovative and consumer-friendly product," said Jay Herratti, CEO of Citysearch. "Aggregating content from across the web and blending it with distinctive features including a polling system to rank restaurants, Urbanspoon is expanding the realm of what's possible for consumers when it comes to finding local content on the web."
"With millions of downloads of their iPhone app, Urbanspoon has demonstrated that they can successfully distill mash-up web content and deliver it through mobile for foodies and local restaurant seekers alike," said Dinesh Moorjani, SVP of Mobile for IAC.
Already a member of the Citysearch Partner Network, Urbanspoon has been integrating IAC local content throughout its site since 2008, laying the groundwork for this expanded relationship.
"IAC is a leader in the local space and we are excited to be a part of its family," said Ethan Lowry, co-founder, Urbanspoon. "With access to IAC's resources, we can expand our reach and develop new products while maintaining our brand identity."
The deal closed on February 13th, 2009.
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