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About.com Acquires Consumer Search.com
ConsumerSearch.com Expands About.com’s Reach and Content Offerings
NEW YORK, May 7, 2007 - About.com, one of the 15 most-visited sites in the United States and a part of The New York Times Company, announced today that it has acquired ConsumerSearch.com, a leading online publisher of meta-reviews.
ConsumerSearch.com is designed to be the best starting place for any consumer aiming to research purchase decisions. The site covers thousands of consumer products through a network of freelance writers who analyze reviews from multiple online and offline sources. ConsumerSearch.com currently covers approximately 250 product categories and thousands of product reviews.
“This acquisition will greatly expand About.com's reach in numerous categories, substantially enhance our library of content and increase our advertising inventory, driving additional revenue growth,” said Scott Meyer, president and CEO, About.com. “ConsumerSearch.com is the premier resource for consumer product meta-reviews that enable readers to make intelligent purchasing decisions quickly and accurately.”
The purchase price was $33 million, and the Times Company anticipates that it will be additive to earnings beginning in 2008. This acquisition will not affect the Times Company's 2007 guidance on interest expense, depreciation and amortization or capital expenditures.
The founder of ConsumerSearch, Inc., Derek Drew , and the company's five other employees will become employees of About.com. Mr. Drew will report to Scott Meyer.
About.com has 1.6 million pieces of original content, making it one of the Web's leading producers of original content. In 2006, About.com added 88 new topic sites, bringing the total to more than 600. Content is created by a network of Guides who are passionate about their topic areas and have deep expertise and credentials in their fields. Guides make sure visitors to About.com find answers and advice that are personally relevant, credible, and useful – all delivered in a human, accessible voice. In March 2007, About.com had 33.5 million unique visitors, which is a 14 percent increase over the same period a year ago.
Over the past eight months, About.com acquired UCompareHealthCare.com, a site that provides consumers with access to quality ratings and related information on hospitals, nursing homes, mammography centers, fertility clinics and doctors, and Calorie-Count.com, a site that offers weight loss tools and nutritional information. These acquisitions demonstrate About.com's commitment to expanding its reach, content and user resources.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include national and local conditions, as well as competition, that could influence the levels (rate and volume) of retail, national and classified advertising and circulation generated by the Company's various markets and material increases in newsprint prices. They also include other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's publicly filed documents, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
About About.com
Founded in 1996, About.com is one of the Web's leading producers of original content. In March 2005, About.com was acquired by The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a media company with 2006 revenues of $3.3 billion. The New York Times Company includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other daily newspapers, nine network-affiliated television stations, one New York City radio station and 35 Web sites, including NYTimes.com and Boston.com. The Company's core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.
Investor Contacts:
Catherine J. Mathis, 212-556-1981; E-mail: mathis@nytimes.com
Paula Schwartz, 212-556-5224; E-mail: schwap@nytimes.com
Press Contacts:
Abbe Serphos, 212-204-1467, E-mail: serphos@nytimes.com
Lisa Langsdorf, 212-204-1467, E-mail: llangsdorf@about.com
This press release can be downloaded from, www.nytco.co