IAC/InterActiveCorp, the Internet conglomerate that runs some of the web's most well-known brands, announced that it will be broken up into 5 companies. Current head of the company, Barry Diller, will run IAC -- which will remain a potpourri of Internet properties including Ask, Evite, InsiderPage, Match.com, Excite, CollegeHumor, and others, and will manage IAC's investments in sites like BrightCove, and MerchantCircle. The other four newly formed properties will be HSN (shopping), Ticketmaster (event tickets), Interval International (vacation/travel), and LendingTree (loans).
"We've been a complex enterprise almost from the very beginning 12 years ago, with hundreds of transactions over those years," said Diller in a statement about the split. "And while we've created a lot of value, I've always believed our complexity and many mouthfuls of sentences to explain who we are and what our strategy is have hampered clarity and understanding with all our constituencies, particularly investors." According to Diller, the spun off entities will retain strong inter-company relationships.
IAC also announced a major advertising deal with Google, according to paidContent. The deal will put Google sponsored search ads on IAC properties and is worth at least $3.5 billion, said Diller in a press conference this morning.
IACI was up nearly 9% in early morning trading.
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