Web portal Lycos Inc has paid $78.3m to acquire Quote.com Inc, a provider of online financial information. The deal also calls for Lycos to assume Quote.com’s stock option plan, although no specifics on the related costs were disclosed. Lycos touts Media Metrix research that shows Quote.com to be one of the top five sites on the web for investment information and analysis tools. It will become part of the Lycos network and, given the meteoric rise in online investing, the company expects it to be a significant added draw for both consumers and advertisers.
The acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of the year, brings Lycos the Quote.com site as well as what is described as thousands of individual paying subscribers to its premium services, representing Lycos’ first move into the subscription business. The number of paying subscribers has grown nearly 50% over the past six months, Lycos claims, although it would be no more specific. Quote.com also brings to Lycos more than 150 co-branding partners, including Charles Schwab, Waterhouse Securities, SunAmerica and Bank of America, all of whose sites use Quote.com content and services.
Lycos says Quote.com will continue to operate from its Mountain View, California headquarters as a business unit of Lycos. After the acquisition, Waltham, Massachusetts-based Lycos will employ over 300 people in its West Coast facilities. Lycos gave no word on whether the deal will be dilutive in the near term and provided no guidance on any related charges.
