Lately, we’ve been having this conversation often: Have you noticed how CNN sticks in an ad every 3 minutes? Boy, television is getting unwatchable, but for a reason: old media is imploding at a fantastic pace right now. The cost of producing quality content is still high, especially the kind of content that CNN and
Interactive Corp. (NASDAQ: IACI) recently announced its decision to split its whole business into five separate listed entities. The stock has lost around 24% in 2007. The spin off will hopefully lead to value unlocking for shareholders. It will create 5 different entities – Interactive (including Ask.com, Match.com and Citysearch), Home Shopping Network, Ticketmaster, Interval
I wondered earlier if Priceline (PCLN) would reach its all-time dot.com high of $104/share ever again. The company not only reached the target but exceeded it, and is currently trading at $120/share. Priceline recently posted earnings for Q3 totaling $104.4 million versus $48.8 million in the same period a year ago. Excluding one-time items, Q3
We did a long coverage on IAC’s strategy, and suggested that IAC needs a restructuring. Well, the company is being split up into five parts, as reported by the WSJ this morning. :: The five companies will be IAC, including Ask.com, Match.com and Citysearch; IAC’s retailing unit that includes the HSN home shopping network, Shoebuy
Conclusion McClatchy is in the business of publishing newspapers, which is in turmoil due to the falling advertising and circulation revenues, and McClatchy is a victim of that trend. Falling real estate, auto, jobs and personal advertisements have resulted in the sharp fall in vertical classified revenues. McClatchy is trying to recover. The key reasons
Conclusion IAC has leadership positions in the Personals, and Local / Ticketing verticals. Through Expedia, it also has a great position in Travel. However, there are concerns with HSN Network, Lending Tree and Real Estate segments, though they are strong brands with competitive positioning. IAC holds more than 60 online properties and someone could easily
Acquisition Targets IAC has made a host of acquisitions in the past few years in the Internet space. IAC acquired Ask.com in 2005 for $1.9 billion. Over the past two years it has made some interesting acquisitions including Shoebuy and CollegeHumour. The table below lists all the acquisitions made by IAC between 2001 and 2006.
Vertical Strategy IAC is present in some of the most promising verticals like Dating & Matchmaking, and Real Estate among others. The Company is looking at expanding its verticals both through organic and M&A means. We will discuss the Company’s offerings in the different verticals in the following paragraphs. Dating & Matchmaking Match.com is the