The Ghosts Of Web 1.0 Are Being Acquired: AllBusiness.com Sells For $55 Million
Duncan Riley
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The ghosts of Web 1.0 have risen from the dead and are being acquired. Beliefnet was acquired by News Corp yesterday and now Dun & Bradstreet has acquired another Web 1.0 survivor, AllBusiness.com, for $55 million.
AllBusiness.com was founded in 1999 as a business information service targeted primarily at small businesses. The original company was acquired by NBCi in March of 2000 for $225 million and was merged later that year with BigVine.com in a business known as AllBusiness. In April 2002 the company was broken up, with the AllBusiness.com site being reacquired by founder Richard Harroch.
Since that time Allbusiness.com has taken two rounds of funding, $10 million from Vantage Point in 2004 and $12.4 million in a round led by Sutter Hill Ventures that included VantagePoint Venture Partners and Reed Elsevier Ventures in 2005.
Dun & Bradstreet said in a short statement that AllBusiness.com would be used to expand D&B’s online presence, with the purchase expected to generate $10 million in incremantal revenue in 2008 and add to earning in 2009.
AllBusiness.com CEO Kath Yates said that the acquisition would marrying AllBusiness.com’s vast library of articles, videos, and podcasts with D&B’s comprehensive company and industry research, creating “one of the largest audiences of intent-driven business decision makers on the Web.”
Now there’s really a bubble in the making…
I don’t know if it’s a bubble but the deal sounds pretty good considering the vast mountains of unique content that they are acquiring as well.
Jon
And adsense entries everywhere… true.. good for contextual advertising!!
113.com
2000: $225m 2007: $55m
If anything its evidence that there’s not a bubble, valuations now are much more sensible then during Web 1.0
what on earth is an “intent-driven business decision maker”?
Is that different to business decision makers who make choices based on how nice the weather is that day, or how well their steak was seasoned at lunch?
I don’t think there are enough popup ads and other content ads on allbusiness.com. The ability to read 30% of the content is just way too high. Make it less user friendly and they’ll have a winner!
Ok, I’ll rephrase it to bubblelet then.. wording obviously after Mary Meeker..
And, cf. Skype valuation.. (if “only time will tell”.. so, now the time comes..)
Nor do I wish there’s any bubble..
But then, isn’t that a bubble has been what ppl been asking for..?
Recalling a cartoon from b3ta.com or something, which said, “God - just one more bubble, Please, please…” ;-p
All that I like only there domain name.
All, if it matters, how about allfacebook.com.. more facebook coverages than TC!
113.com
I prefer bubble like activity personally. It’s not the same wildness as last time, but there’s definitely some crazy valuations and related activity.
Duncan,
I like a good bubble, too. It makes for interesting news daily, with product announcements, partnerships, mergers and acquisitions. That being said, the time immediately following a bubble is equally interesting, with daily shutdown notices, bankruptcies, restructurings, sales on the cheap, etc.
It will be neat to see when TechCrunch Deadpool posts dominate the news every day. In the near future, we could be seeing: TechCrunch - the Web 2.0 version of FuckedCompany.com. (Can I say FuckedCompany.com on here?)
Cheers,
Doug
One way or another, there’s 2017 up and coming.. if 2008 is 1999+9…
mightbe by then it’s Web 17.0 (or Web 71.0?)
A $55 million price tag isn’t shabby but this one is attached to a site once sold for $225 million. However the sale is nothing like the sale of business.com earlier this year for a whopping $345 million in cash plus earnout RH Donnelley paid for Business.com, the info, directory and search site.
Great buy for D&B;. Very surprised at the price, thought AB would easily exit in the 9 figures. Wonder why not…
Parul
http://www.bhopu.com
“…to generate $10 million in incremantal revenue…”
Spell check anyone?
Murdock acquired beliefnet!?!?
There goes impartiality.
I bet you in a couple of months they will being portraying Muslims as murderous cyborgs, and atheists as people without souls.
congrats. but that is pretty low if you ask me.