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IAC To Split Up, Extends Google Ad Deal Worth $3.5+ Billion

Barry Schwartz on November 5, 2007 at 12:45 pm

Today is a big day for IAC, Ask.com’s parent company. First they announce they are breaking the company into five publicly traded entities, and then they announce they have extended their search ad deal with Google.

Let’s first talk about IAC extending the search ad deal with Google. Google’s sponsored listings will power the search ads on IAC’s Internet properties, including Ask.com. Yes, Ask.com does have their own ASL program, but Google fulfills much of the ads with their AdWords inventory. Earlier this year, there was question if Google would renew the deal with Ask. This deal is worth about $3.5 billion to IAC, so I suspect Ask.com is fairly happy to have extended the deal.

In other IAC news, Barry Diller said he will split the company into five different companies. From the press release, these will be:

IAC, which will include:
- Its Media & Advertising sector: Ask.com, Bloglines, Citysearch,
  CursorMania, IAC Advertising Solutions, Evite, Excite, InsiderPages, iWon,
  My Fun Cards, My Way, Popular Screensavers, Smiley Central, Webfetti and
  Zwinky; Match.com, ServiceMagic, Shoebuy.com, Entertainment Publications, and
  ReserveAmerica
- Its Emerging Businesses sector: Black Web Enterprises, BustedTees,
  CollegeHumor, GarageGames, Gifts.com, Green.com, InstantAction, Primal
  Ventures, Pronto, Very Short List, Vimeo, and 23/6
- IAC’s current investments in Active.com, Brightcove, FiLife, Medem,
  MerchantCircle, OpenTable, Points.com, and SHOP Channel.
HSN, which will include the primary businesses currently comprising
IAC’s Retailing segment, including HSN TV, hsn.com, and the Cornerstone
Brands, Inc. portfolio of catalogs, web sites, and retail
locations, including Alsto’s, Ballard Designs, Frontgate, Garnet Hill,
GrandinRoad, Improvements, Isabella Bird, Smith+Noble, The Territory Ahead, and
TravelSmith
Ticketmaster, which will include its domestic and international
operations including Admission.com, Biletix, Billetnet, BillettService,
Cottonblend, Echomusic, Kartenhaus.de, Lippupalvelu, LiveDaily, TicketService,
Tick Tack Ticket, TicketWeb, and Ticnet.se, as well as Ticketmaster’s current
investments in Frontline and iLike
Interval International, which will also include CondoDirect, Resort
Quest Hawaii, and VacationSource.com
LendingTree, which will also include RealEstate.com, Domania,
GetSmart, Home Loan Center, and iNest.

IAC recently reported Q3 earnings, which showed Ask.com and that sector with an increase of 40% in revenue. But the overall company showed a decline in earnings due to losses from LendingTree.

More coverage on the IAC company news at Techmeme.

About The Author

Barry Schwartz

Barry Schwartz is Search Engine Land's News Editor and owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on SEM topics.