Today IAC did something that was very overdue: it blew itself up into five companies.
This is the next natural step after IAC spun off Expedia, but I still think the emerging 5 separate companies are not lean and quick enough to take on agile competitors. Let’s first see what the offspring will look like:
-- IAC, which will include:
-- The businesses currently comprising 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;
-- The businesses currently comprising 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.
Call me a skeptic, but there remains a lot of confused sub-companies here. The company that shall retain the IAC moniker could itself be broken up into 3-5 companies…
But, for what it’s worth, it’s a step in the right direction. This begs the question, will the companies really remain separate and distinct? Of course not, for Barry Diller, the dealmaker maven will maintain control and remain the five companies’ Chairman… which means that they’ll be as separate and distinct as a massive new media Siamese quintuplet.
Tags: IAC, M&A, Management|
Posted By: Ashkan Karbasfrooshan | Nov 5th
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