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Report: Zagat Sold For Under $66M

While terms of the deal were not disclosed, TechCrunch insists that Google just got Zagat for less than $66 million. How so? "There was no FTC antitrust review, which is automatically triggered by any deal worth $66 million or more," it reminds us. If TechCrunch's deduction is true, it's not a bad deal for Google, considering the reviews and ratings service was reportedly shopping itself around for $200 million just a few years back.

Critics, however, don't buy the idea that the somewhat antiquated Zagat can substitute for Yelp -- the more modern review services, which Google has tried to buy for about half a billion dollars. "If you were losing to Wikipedia would your next move be to buy Encyclopedia Britannica?" an unnamed Silicon Valley CEO asks TechCrunch.

"Nevertheless, it's a smart move for Google," in TechCrunch's opinion. "It needed to beef up its local reviews and ratings, and that's exactly what Zagat lets it do."

Read the whole story at TechCrunch »

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