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IAC Inc.

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IAC/InterActiveCorp
Company typePublic
Nasdaq: IAC
ISINUS44891N1090 Edit this on Wikidata
IndustryInternet
FoundedAugust 24, 1995; 29 years ago (1995-08-24)
HeadquartersIAC Building,
New York City, New York
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Joey Levin (CEO)
ProductsInteractive Online
RevenueIncrease US$ 3.23 billion (2015)
Increase US$ 179.6 million (2015)
Increase US$ 119.5 million (2015)
Total assetsIncrease US$ 5.21 billion (2015)
Total equityIncrease US$ 2.22 billion (2015)
Number of employees
5,000 (January 2015)
Websitewww.iac.com

IAC/InterActiveCorp (also known as IAC) is an American media and Internet company, with over 150 brands across 100 countries,[1] headquartered in New York City.[2] Joey Levin, who previously led the company's Search & Applications segment,[3] has been the company's Chief Executive Officer since June 2015.[4]

History

1980s and 1990s

IAC was established in 1986 as Silver King Broadcasting Company, as part of a plan to increase viewership of the Home Shopping Network (HSN) by purchasing local television stations.[5][6] By 1988, Silver King had bought 11 stations for about $220 million.[6] The company was later renamed as HSN Communications, Inc., and then Silver King Communications, Inc.[5] In 1992, Silver King was spun off to HSN shareholders as a separately traded public company.[7] In August 1995, Barry Diller acquired control of Silver King, in a deal backed by the company's largest shareholder, Liberty Media.[8][9] Diller, who had led the creation of the Fox network, reportedly hoped to use Silver King's stations as the foundation for a new broadcast network.[9]

In December 1996, Silver King acquired an 80% stake in HSN for $1.3 billion in stock, and changed its own name to HSN, Inc.[10][11][12] At the same time, the company acquired Savoy Pictures, a failed film studio that owned four Fox affiliate stations through SF Broadcasting, for $210 million in stock.[13]

The company acquired several assets in the late 1990s. HSN purchased a controlling stake in Ticketmaster Group in July 1997,[14] and then acquired the rest of the company in June 1998.[15][16] In February 1998, it acquired the television assets of Universal Studios (including USA Network, Sci-Fi Channel, and Universal Television's domestic production and distribution arms) for $4.1 billion.[17][18] The company's name was changed to USA Networks, Inc. at this point.[18] Continuing its acquisition strategy, the company acquired the Hotel Reservations Network in May 1999 for $149 million.[19][20]

USA Networks merged the online division of Ticketmaster with city guide website CitySearch in September 1998, establishing a new company that went public as Ticketmaster Online–CitySearch (TMCS).[21][22] USA then sold Ticketmaster proper to TMCS in 2001, retaining a 61 percent share in the combined company, which became known as simply Ticketmaster.[23][24] USA brought Ticketmaster back under full ownership in 2003, purchasing all outstanding shares.[25]

2000s

In the early 2000s, USA Networks began divesting itself of its traditional television broadcasting and production units. In May 2001, Univision Communications acquired USA Broadcasting (a division of USA Networks including 13 local stations).[26] The next year, Vivendi bought the rest of USA's broadcast entertainment businesses, including the USA Network and Sci-Fi Channel.[27] This led to the creation of a new company named Vivendi Universal Entertainment, led by Diller.[28] Throughout this transition, USA Networks continued to build up its online portfolio. In July 2001, the company entered the online travel business with its acquisition of Expedia,[29] followed the next year by an acquisition of Interval International.[30]

Following the shift in focus to online assets, the company changed its name to USA Interactive in May 2002;[31] InterActiveCorp in June 2003;[32] and finally to IAC/InterActiveCorp in July 2004.[33]

In August 2003, IAC acquired the online mortgage comparison site LendingTree,[34] and in September, the company added discount travel website Hotwire.com to its growing list of acquisitions.[35] In October, IAC agreed to buy French travel site Anyway.com from Transat A.T. for $62.7 million.[36]

In 2004 and 2005, IAC continued its growth through acquisition, adding assets including TripAdvisor,[37] ServiceMagic,[38] and Ask Jeeves.[39] It also launched Gifts.com during this period.[40] In August 2005, the company bundled together its travel-related sites and spun them off as a new public company, Expedia, Inc.[41] Additional acquisitions in 2006 included Shoebuy.com[42] and CollegeHumor.[43]

In May 2008, IAC and Ask.com acquired Lexico, the owner of Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com, and Reference.com.[44] In August 2008, IAC spun off several of its businesses, including: Tree.com (formerly LendingTree), the Home Shopping Network, Ticketmaster, and Interval International.[45] 2009 saw the acquisition of Urbanspoon[46] and People Media,[47] and the launch of production company Notional.[48]

In July 2009, IAC partnered with Ben Silverman to create Electus, a company focused on multimedia production and online distribution.[49]

2010s

IAC's long-time largest shareholder, Liberty Media, exited the company in 2010, following a protracted dispute over the 2008 spinoffs.[50][51] Liberty traded its IAC stock for $220 million in cash, plus ownership of Evite and Gifts.com.[50] On the same day, Diller stepped down as CEO, though he remained as chairman, with a 34% voting stake in the company; Match.com CEO Greg Blatt was appointed to succeed him.[50]

In 2010, IAC acquired dating site Singlesnet[52] and fitness site DailyBurn.[53] In February 2011, IAC acquired the free-to-contact dating site, OkCupid, for $50 million.[54] In April 2011, IAC extended its deal with Google, originally worth $3.5 billion, to hand over all search advertising on Ask.com and other IAC search products through March 31, 2016.[55]

On February 14, 2012, Barry Diller introduced Aereo, an Internet television service. In March 2012 in New York City, Aereo started streaming all of the broadcast networks to smartphones, tablets and televisions with Internet capability.[56] On June 25, 2014, in a 6-3 Opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Aereo. The Court found that Aereo infringed upon the rights of copyright holders.[57]

On August 26, 2012, IAC acquired About.com from the New York Times.[58]

In January 2013, IAC acquired online tutoring firm Tutor.com.[59] On August 3, 2013, IAC sold Newsweek to the International Business Times on undisclosed terms.[60] In November 2013, IAC acquired Investopedia and PriceRunner from ValueClick.[61]

On December 22, 2013, IAC fired their Director of Corporate Communications, Justine Sacco after an AIDS joke she posted to Twitter went viral,[62] being re-tweeted and scorned around the world.[63] The incident became a byword for the need for people to be cautious about what they post on social media.[64]

In January 2014, IAC acquired a segment of ValueClick's business, including Investopedia and PriceRunner.[65] Later that year, in August, IAC acquired ASKfm for an undisclosed sum.[66]

In January 2015, IAC sold Urbanspoon to Zomato for $52 million.[67]

In June 2015, IAC announced its intent to pursue an IPO of Match Group,[68] which officially filed documents for an initial public offering on October 16.[69] Shares of Match Group (MTCH) debuted on the Nasdaq on November 19, and finished that first day up 23% from the initial public offering price of $12.[70]

On July 14, 2015, the dating service PlentyOfFish was purchased for $575 million in cash to become a part of Match Group.[71]

On December 9, 2015, IAC announced the creation of IAC Publishing, a unit that combines The Daily Beast, About.com, Dictionary.com and Investopedia into a single operating group.[72]

On January 21, 2016, IAC announced a realignment of its reportable segments and a change of its ticker symbol to IAC from IACI.[73]

In March 2016, IAC completed the sale of PriceRunner to NS Intressenter AB, a Swedish private equity firm.[74]

On May 2, 2016, IAC’s Vimeo announced the acquisition of VHX, a platform for premium over-the-top subscription video channels.[75]

Businesses

In January 2016, IAC categorized its businesses into distinct segments for the purposes of financial reporting. Those segments are labelled by the company as Match Group, Publishing, Applications, Video, HomeAdvisor, and Other. Each business listed may have multiple brands connected to it.[73]

Corporate affairs

Board of directors

IAC's board of directors consists of the following members:[4]


IAC subsidiary Twoo, are spamming email addresses they'd obtained from hacked WordPress databases.

TechCrunch reported accusations of Twoo forwarding invitations to its users' email contacts using spamming methods.[76] TechCrunch did a follow-up a year later and maintained that Twoo was still following the same spamming methods as it had reported the previous year.[77] Users of Spring.me, a social questions-and-answers service, were automatically migrated to Twoo's dating service, creating "shell accounts" for the dating site from their Q&A site accounts; this move, along with accusations of fake accounts, has raised ethical and legal questions about the company's conduct.[78][79]

See also

References

  1. ^ "IAC - CrunchBase". CrunchBase. Retrieved 2015-01-08.
  2. ^ "Our Brand Locations". IAC. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  3. ^ "Joey Levin | IAC". iac.com. Retrieved 2015-12-16.
  4. ^ a b "IAC/InterActiveCorp | Leadership of IAC from company website". IAC. Retrieved 2015-12-16.
  5. ^ a b Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). HSN, Inc. April 14, 1997. p. 3 – via EDGAR.
  6. ^ a b James Greiff (July 4, 1988). "Cable TV broker has a new vision". St. Petersburg Times – via NewsBank.
  7. ^ "HSN completes Silver King spinoff". The Roanoke Times. December 30, 1992 – via NewsBank.
  8. ^ "Diller Is Cleared To Take Control of Silver King". New York Times. 1996-03-12. Retrieved 2015-01-08.
  9. ^ a b Geraldine Fabrikant (August 26, 1995). "Return of the fox". Fort Worth Star-Telegram – via NewsBank.
  10. ^ Martin Peers (December 19, 1996). "Silver King annexes HSN". Variety. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  11. ^ Mark Albright (August 27, 1996). "HSN is acquired as deal is revamped". St. Petersburg Times – via NewsBank.
  12. ^ Form 8-K: Acquisition or disposition of assets (Report). Silver King Communications. December 23, 1996 – via EDGAR.
  13. ^ "Diller to take over Savoy, Home Shopping". UPI NewsTrack. November 27, 1995 – via NewsBank.
  14. ^ "HSN, With 50.1%, Has Controlling Stake In Ticketmaster". New York Times. 1997-07-30. Retrieved 2015-01-08.
  15. ^ Kevin Shinkle (March 11, 1998). "USA Networks gets deal after boosting bid for Ticketmaster". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Bloomberg – via NewsBank.
  16. ^ Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). USA Networks, Inc. March 24, 1999. p. 3 – via EDGAR.
  17. ^ "Barry Diller Is No Visionary, But..." Fortune Magazine. Retrieved 2015-01-08.
  18. ^ a b "HSN adds to TV fare; is renamed". The Tampa Tribune. February 13, 1998 – via NewsBank.
  19. ^ "USA Networks to acquire Hotel Reservation Network". Biz Journals. Retrieved 2015-01-08.
  20. ^ Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). USA Networks. March 2, 2000. p. 69 – via EDGAR.
  21. ^ Form S-1: Registration Statement (Report). Ticketmaster Online–CitySearch. September 30, 1998. p. 5 – via EDGAR.
  22. ^ "Ticketmaster Online has IPO". Associated Press News Service. December 3, 1998 – via NewsBank.
  23. ^ Gary Gentile (November 22, 2000). "USA Networks consolidates Ticketmaster operations". Associated Press Archive – via NewsBank.
  24. ^ "Ticketmaster Online–CitySearch and Ticketmaster close transaction" (Press release). Ticketmaster. January 31, 2001 – via EDGAR.
  25. ^ "USA Interactive completes acquisition of Ticketmaster" (Press release). USA Interactive. January 16, 2003. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
  26. ^ "U.S. Approved Univision Deal". New York Times. 2001-05-09. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
  27. ^ "Vivendi Completes USA Deal". LA Times. 2002-05-08. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
  28. ^ "Vivendi Seals $10.3B USA Networks Deal". FoxNews.com. 2001-12-17. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
  29. ^ "USA Networks acquires Expedia". The Chicago Tribune. 2001-07-17. Retrieved 2015-05-18.
  30. ^ "USA Interactive to Acquire Interval International..." HospitalityNet.org. Retrieved 2015-05-18.
  31. ^ "USA Networks, Inc. completes transaction with Vivendi Universal; company renamed USA Interactive" (Press release). USA Interactive. May 7, 2002 – via EDGAR.
  32. ^ "LendingTree suitor changing name". Biz Journals. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
  33. ^ Form 8-K: Current report (Report). IAC/InteractiveCorp. July 14, 2004 – via EDGAR.
  34. ^ Hansell, Saul (2003-05-06). "USA Interactive Is Acquiring LendingTree In Stock Deal". New York Times. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
  35. ^ "InteractiveCorp to buy Hotwire". USA Today. 2003-09-22. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
  36. ^ "Transat announces sale of Anyway.com to IAC/InterActiveCorp". The Free Library. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
  37. ^ Hansell, Saul (2004-03-17). "Deals: InterActive Corp to Acquire TripAdvisor". New York Times. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
  38. ^ "IAC/InterActive Corp Acquires ServiceMagic". ACHR News. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
  39. ^ Fabrikant, Geraldine (2005-03-21). "AskJeeves Inc to Be Bought for $2 Billion". New York Times. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
  40. ^ "IAC Launches Gift-Giving Web Site". Wall Street Journal. 2005-03-21. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
  41. ^ Hansell, Saul (2005-08-08). "Spinoff of Expedia Comes at Tough Time for Its Sector". New York Times. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
  42. ^ "IAC/Interactive acquires online retailer ShoeBuy.com". Biz Journals. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
  43. ^ "IAC Buys CollegeHumor.com". AdWeek. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
  44. ^ "IAC to Buy Lexico to Boost Its Ask.com". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  45. ^ "IAC: And Then There Were Five". Forbes. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
  46. ^ "IAC purchases Seattle restaurant guide site UrbanSpoon". Seattle Times. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  47. ^ "IAC Buys More Dating Sites For $80 Million". Business Insider. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  48. ^ "IAC Announces Launch of Production Company Notional". PR Newswire. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  49. ^ "Co-Chief of NBC Entertainment Departs". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-05-18.
  50. ^ a b c Serwer, Andy (December 2, 2010). "Diller on leaving the top spot at IAC: "The company wasn't being managed correctly"". Fortune. Retrieved 2016-02-14.
  51. ^ Robin Wauters (December 2, 2010). "Liberty Exits IAC For Evite, Gifts.com And $220M In Cash – Diller Steps Down As CEO". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2016-02-14.
  52. ^ "Confirmed: Match.com Acquires Singlesnet". Techcrunch. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  53. ^ "IAC Buys Into Fitness Social Network DailyBurn". Techcrunch. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  54. ^ "IAC's Match.com buys rival OKCupid for $50M". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on February 5, 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  55. ^ Leena Rao, "IAC Asks For More Google, Please." Techcrunch, April 11, 2011. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  56. ^ Stelter, Brian (2012-02-14). "New Service Will Stream Local TV Stations in New York". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  57. ^ Breyer, J (June 2014). "American Broadcasting Company, et al. v. Aereo Inc" (PDF). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  58. ^ "Ask.com Parent To Buy About.com For About $300M". NPR. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  59. ^ "Biggest Online Tutor Bought By Barry Diller's IAC". ABC News. January 8, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  60. ^ Launder, William (August 3, 2013). "IBT Media to Buy Newsweek from IAC". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  61. ^ ValueClick, Inc. Signs Definitive Agreement to Sell Owned & Operated Websites Segment
  62. ^ Ronson, Jon (February 12, 2015). "How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco's Life". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved February 13, 2015. Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just kidding. I'm white!
  63. ^ O'Connell, Mark, "First Thought, Worst Thought", New Yorker, January 13, 2014
  64. ^ Giacomazzo, Bernadette (2014-01-10). ""Top 10 Social Media Rules for Professionals (Hint: Don't Be Like Justine Sacco)" Latin Post, 10 January 2014". Latin Post. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  65. ^ "ValueClick selling website unit to IAC". SeekingAlpha. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  66. ^ "IAC to acquire Ask.fm, agrees to combat cyberbullying". Big News Network.com. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  67. ^ http://www.vccircle.com/news/technology/2015/01/13/zomato-enters-us-purchase-urbanspoon-around-40-50m
  68. ^ Wells, Georgia; Alpert, Lukas I. (June 25, 2015). "IAC/Interactive Plans an IPO for Its Matchmaking Business". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 7, 2015. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |lastauthoramp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)
  69. ^ Wells, Georgia; Armental, Maria (October 16, 2015). "Match Group, Parent of Tinder, Files for IPO". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 19, 2015. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |lastauthoramp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)
  70. ^ "Tinder parent Match ends up 22% in trading debut". CNBC. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  71. ^ Bootstrapped dating site PlentyOfFish has fewer than 100 employees and Match just bought it for $575 million in cash. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  72. ^ IAC Places Next Bet on Digital Media. Retrieved 8 Jan 2016.
  73. ^ a b IAC Realigns Reporting Segments, Changes Ticker. Retrieved 25 Jan 2016.
  74. ^ Swedes Click With Comparison Site Pricerunner. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  75. ^ "Vimeo acquires VHX to boost its video-on-demand business". CNBC. 2 May 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  76. ^ Billy Gallagher (August 3, 2012). "Users Claim Twoo Is Spamming Their Friends, Social Network Says It's "Just Not Clear Enough"". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  77. ^ Billy Gallagher (August 3, 2013). "A Year Of Spam: The Twoo Experience". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  78. ^ Andy Barratt (August 18, 2015). "Twoo, the dating site you didn't ask to join". Geek Scot. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  79. ^ Owen Williams (December 23, 2015). "Getting emails from a dating site you never signed up for? Twoo probably used your identity". TheNextWeb. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
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