What can $1.9B buy you? Well, apparently it can buy you Ask Jeeves. IAC/InterActiveCorp. yesterday agreed to buy the search engine for that sum. The move saw the share value of the company increase by 14 percent (or $3.41) to $27.65 in pre-market trading.
Through its previously authorized share repurchase programs, IAC intends to buy back at least 60 percent of the roughly 75 million shares it will issue for this acquisition, in order to limit the dilution the deal will cause for its current shareholders. It said that, assuming a 60 percent repurchase rate, it expects the deal will add to earnings per share this year.
Ask Jeeves works by getting users to ask a specific question rather than simply listing words or phrases, as in common with other search engines. Apparently, Ask Jeeves is the world's No. 9 Web company, and represents a great investment.