Barry Diller gets into bidding war for About.com, report says
IAC/Interactivecorp is willing to pay $30 million more than Answers.com has agreed to pay for the information site, according to Reuters.
Barry Diller, one of the premiere dealmakers in media, has bid $300 million for struggling About.com, The New York Times' information Web site, according to Reuters.
The offer from Diller's holding company, IAC/Interactivecorp, is about $30 million higher than a rival bid from Answers.com, Reuters reported.
The Times announced on August 8 that it was in discussions about selling its About Group but didn't identify the interested parties. Answers.com President Peter Horan is the former head of About.com.
About.com is designed to be a guide for Internet users and offers tips, advice, and information on nearly 1,000 topics. The service's content is designed to appear high up in search results.
This was easier to do before tweaks to Google's search algorithm resulted in pushing About.com's guides further down in search rankings.