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

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.

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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 very advanced SEM topics. Barry can be followed on social media at @rustybrick, +BarrySchwartz and Facebook. For more background information on Barry, see his full bio and disclosures, click over here.