Citysearch doubles its bank of user-generated reviews and expands into the home and garden and health and beauty categories through the acquisition of Insider Pages, a community site offering more
than 600,000 merchant reviews in 30 markets across the U.S.
Citysearch is the local search, directory and media business of IAC. Through the acquisition, announced yesterday,
Citysearch will offer consumers more than 1 million user reviews and local market directory information across more than 500 business categories--from restaurants and spas to plumbers and lawyers.
Founded in 2004, Insider Pages will retain its brand identity, which has strong equity with its reviewer base, said Dinesh Moorjani, vice president of strategy and corporate development for
Citysearch. How it is positioned within the Citysearch brand is still being determined.
One of the attractions to Citysearch was the company's "lean and talented" management talent and skill for
cultivating a strong community, he added. All 10 Insider Pages employees will continue with Citysearch, including senior management and CEO Mitch Galbraith.
Citysearch is known for its in-depth
arts and entertainment information, and also offers a local directory for every domestic ZIP code. Ads are sold on a pay-for-performance basis.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.