NexTag Sold for $1B?
As reported last week on Active Business Networking, a private equity firm supposedly bought a large chunck of NexTag for $1B. Yes, that’s a B, as in Billion. I have not been able to confirm the sale (no comment from NexTag), but 4 people have confirmed something is up, so I’m confident that the deal is either done or just about done.
When I first started covering the shopping search industry 2 years ago, I heard rumors that NexTag had offers on the table for about $750m, but was looking for $1B. Later the price tag rose to $1.3B. More recently, I had even heard the price tag was up to $1.7B. Seems like Purnendu got what he wanted. Many people figured the climate changed when NexTag actually gave out a dividend for the first time last December.
Congrats to Purnendu & Rafael, the founders, as well as the many NexTagers who have helped and continue to help ComparisonEngines & SingleFeed – Mark, Stephen, Will, & Tracy.
I love that the shopping search industry is still completely overlooked by almost everybody. Assuming the deal is legit, this will continue the streak of VC backed shopping engines having successful exits:
Jango acquired by Excite ($35m)
Junglee acquired by Amazon ($250m)
C2b acquired by Inktomi Product Search ($90m)
MySimon acquired by CNET ($700m)
Cadabra acquired by Overture ($250m)
Kelkoo acquired by Yahoo ($579m)
PriceRunner acquired by Valueclick ($29m)
Dealtime/Epinions formed SDC acquired by eBay ($500m)
Bizrate renamed Shopzilla acquired by EW Scripps ($500m)
PriceGrabber acquired by Experian ($485m)
Here are some interviews with NexTag management:
NexTag – Making Money the Old Fashioned Way – December 6, 2005
Comparison Shopping for Real Estate, Car Insurance, and Groceries? Keep an Eye on NexTag. – June 1, 2005
