Angie's List Board Rejects IAC/InterActiveCorp's Bid

Angie's List's Board of Directors unanimously voted not to accept the unsolicited buyout bid from IAC/InterActiveCorp, the company reported Tuesday.

The board said IAC's $8.75 per-share cash proposal "dramatically undervalues the company and its long-term standalone prospects," and that the proposal represents a mere 10% premium at the time it was made.

It seems IAC chose to announce its proposal on the day Angie's List publicly launched LeadFeed, which Scott Durchslag, Angie's List president and CEO, calls "a testament to the strength of our evolving product and services offering."

LeadFeed, a lead generation tool, aims to capture demand from free online visitors and turn that demand into leads for service providers. "Each year more than 100 million unique visitors come to Angie’s List searching for home improvement services," the company wrote in a press release that became overshadowed by the takeover bid. "More than 85% of those consumers are not yet Angie’s List members. LeadFeed is designed to connect those non-members to service providers."

Angie's List also made public a letter sent Tuesday to IAC CEO Joey Levin, which provides insight into how the events about the bid unraveled.

"As I explained to you on our telephone call on November 3, the Board considered your October 23 proposal and concluded that it should have the opportunity to fully evaluate our Profitable Growth Plan and should share that plan with shareholders before reaching a decision as to whether to engage in a transaction with IAC or any other party," Durchslag wrote in the letter to Levin.

Durchslag makes it clear that the company should have the opportunity to evaluate its Profitable Growth Plan, as well as share that plan with shareholders before reaching a decision as to whether to engage in a transaction with IAC/InterActiveCorp or any other party. He notes in the post that the company will discuss it next quarter at its Investor Day. 

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