Citysearch Buys InsiderPages

VentureBeat is reporting that Citysearch/IAC is the mystery buyer of InsiderPages. A purchase price was not disclosed. The formal announcement will apparently come later today or early tomorrow [now confirmed, see below]. I would guess the purchase price wasn’t more than 2x what the investors put in (TechCrunch guesses $13 million), given that the company was being shopped from a position of weakness. IAC as a buyer is both appropriate and fascinating for many reasons.

I’ve posted more on this on my personal blog.

Postscript: It’s now confirmed, press release below:

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – (March 1st, 2007) – Citysearch, an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI), today announced that it has agreed to acquire Insider Pages, a leading reviews-based local search company located in Redwood City, California. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Insider Pages helps people find the best local businesses through recommendations from their friends, community, and expert reviewers. The site has more than 600,000 merchant reviews on local businesses in 30 markets across the U.S., and 2 million monthly unique users (comScore Media Metrix, January 2007). Through the acquisition, Citysearch will offer consumers over 1 million user reviews and local market directory information across more than 500 business categories – from restaurants and spas to plumbers and lawyers.

“User reviews empower consumers to make informed decisions about where to spend their time and money, and our local merchants tell us that they are more likely to acquire a customer when user reviews are included as part of their online listing,” said Peter Horan, Chief Executive Officer of IAC Media & Advertising. “Through this acquisition, Citysearch will strengthen our breadth of user-generated content across numerous business categories nationwide. Competitively, no company online or offline offers the depth of content in local markets as Citysearch does, making us the most useful and valuable way for merchants to connect with customers, and for consumers to find exactly what they’re looking for. ”

“Our valued user community has been extremely important in creating a new online culture of sharing rich and relevant information on local businesses nationwide. By joining forces with Citysearch, we will be able to work together to improve how consumers find local businesses,” said Mitch Galbraith, CEO of Insider Pages.

When the acquisition is complete, Insider Pages will retain its distinct brand identity and positioning in the market, strengthening and complementing Citysearch’s growing local reach. Insider Pages will move its current operations and team to Citysearch’s San Francisco office