Consolidation in the local web content market escalated yesterday when CitySearch Inc bought local content aggregator Zip2 Corp in a deal said to be worth about $300m. The enlarged CitySearch will have coverage of some sort or another in 175 cities. CitySearch offers community guides to cities including New York, San Francisco and Portland, as well as in Australia and Europe. Zip2 brings together newspapers and other online local services such as Yellow Pages in specific area, and so would seem to make a fairly natural fit. The company is expected to file for an initial public offering before too long. The pair say lay-offs will result and the combined company will have about 700 employees. CitySearch’s chief executive Charles Conn become executive chairman, while Zip2’s CEO Rich Sorkin slips into the CEO role at the large CitySearch. Elon Musk, chairman at Zip2 becomes vice-chairman and executive VP product and technology.
