Infospace sets date for stock split

Internet information infrastructure company InfoSpace.com (Nasdaq: INSP) said Friday it has set March 24 as the record date for the 2-for-1 stock split that was announced on January 31.

Stockholders on the record date of will be entitled to one additional share for every share they own. New shares will be issued around April 6. InfoSpace will start trading at the split-adjusted price on April 7.

Shares in InfoSpace were up 9 9/16 to 270 5/8. The company announced March 1 it was dropping its "dot-com" moniker pending shareholder approval. Infospace, which provides information and commerce infrastructure services to wireless devices, merchants and Web sites, wants to ensure it is recognized as more than just an Internet company.

While many smaller companies are still adding the dot-com to their names, the first generation of Internet companies, business-to-consumer sites, which most commonly use the ".com'' in their title, are languishing in the stock market. Business-to-business (B2B), or Internet companies, now more popular in the stock market, often don't use the suffix.

It's not like the company has been suffering from its "dot-com" status though. The stock has been sailing since the company cruised past estimates in its fourth quarter.

The company has "significantly grown (its) business to provide comprehensive infrastructure services to both the online and offline world,'' said CEO Naveen Jain. "Dropping the dot com from our name will more accurately reflect our true business model of making every space an InfoSpace.''