30th Jul 2007
Local.com purchases PremierGuide Directories
Local.com, one of the leading search engines in the US focused on the hyper local market purchased the PremierGuide business directory sites. As more and more companies chase the hyper local market we expect to see more consolidation between Directories, Search and Classifieds. These 3 services are expected to become the pillars of the hyper local experience with local events, news and entertainment hanging off of them.
One of the interesting aspects of the Local.com approach is their patent on the local search. We see this is as a strong barrier to enter for competitors but business process patents have always been difficult to uphold.
The deal is reported at $2M for PremierGuide which had revenues of approximately $800K in the last 12 month period and $300 in operating costs. The deal does seem very sweet for Local.com and well aligned with their business direction. Its expected the PremierGuide technology and products will combined into the LocalConnect product line over the next few months.
[...] shares at $5.50 per share. The company will use the money to fund acquisitions, like the PremierGuide purchase last month, and expand its sales channel, defend its patent portfolio and for general [...]