Diller: We're not really deal junkies
PASADENA, Calif.--InterActiveCorp CEO Barry Diller says he ended up with a huge Internet conglomerate, but said that was never really his goal.
"I don't really believe in synergies," Diller said Friday, speaking at Fortune's Brainstorm: Tech conference here.
InterActiveCorp CEO Barry Diller (right) talks with Fortune's Andy Serwer at the Brainstorm: Tech conference.
(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET)In the past few years, IAC has already spun off Home Shopping Network, Expedia, LendingTree, and Ticketmaster. He'd eventually like to see the Ask.com search and Citysearch local businesses stand alone as well.
"They are in formation, he said. "They are not sufficiently landed. I'm hopeful that they will be."
Fortune managing editor Andy Serwer challenged Diller on whether he is really improving the entities under his domain. "Are you creating value or are you just a shark that needs to keep swimming?"
Diller quipped that it's probably somewhere in between, before explaining his rationale. "It's not really serial deal making," he said.
The Internet empire, he said, really started with Home Shopping Network, which Diller called the "most primitive form of interactivity."
From there, he said, curiosity forced him onto the Internet.
"We're not really deal junkies," he said. "We just followed the opportunity."
During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried has changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley. These days, most of her attention is focused on Microsoft. E-mail Ina. 
OMG, that's like saying that Lindsay Lohan isn't a party animal, she just followed the flow of traffic.