What's in a Name? Business.com acquired for $345 million
When the annals of Internet history are written, somewhere just below the pets.com sock puppet will sit the $7.5 million purchase of the business.com domain name, by Earthlink founder Sky Dayton and then Disney Internet head Jake Winebaum. At the time, it was decried as clear evidence of the bubble.
Now, nearly eight years later, yellow page publisher RH Donnelley has acquired Business.com for $345 million. According to PaidContent, other bidders included the NY Times, Interactive Corp, Dow Jones and News Corp.
The acquisition brings more than just the domain name this time. Business.com has evolved into a b2b directory, vertical search engine and ppc ad network. The Donnelley press release projects business.com revenue of $50m for 2007.
While it seems pricey, the move makes sense for Donnelley. It and other yellow page providers have failed to demonstrate the ability to generate significant online revenues. Their extensive sales force, accustomed to selling simple bold listings and display advertising to small retailers, are ill-equipped to sell PPC or PPA models. While this acquisition will hardly be enough to fix their business, it will bring new thinking, as Jake Winebaum will be CEO of the online business.
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