IAC Splits into Five Companies
In an effort to simplify their elevator pitch, while improving shareholder value, Barry Diller's IAC Interactive Corp has announced its plan to split into five publicly-traded companies.
On the conference call, Diller stated "It can not be said in a single sentence, ‘what is IAC?".
The internet company, IAC Interactive Corp, which includes Ask.com, CitySearch, Excite, Evite and Match.com, will continue to be led by Diller, while four other units will be spun off:
- HSN (Home Shopping Network)
- Ticketmaster
- Lending Tree
- Interval International (timeshare company)
Operationally, the deal might make some sense. The web-based ad-supported properties will remain together, while the larger stand-alone businesses will be spun out. However, assessing valuations for each of the individual businesses will be a nightmare, as Paul Kedrosky points out. He adds:
We go from a crazy complex quilt of unrelated companies, to another crazy complex quilt of unrelated companies -- with a few wholly-owned unrelated subsidiaries.
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