Comments on: Ask Jeeves to buy Web network for $343 million

With its planned acquisition of Interactive Search Holdings, Ask Jeeves is making a play for greater visibility after several years in the shadow of search behemoths Google and Yahoo.

[pencoyd]

I've never heard of this company

Ask Jeeves, sure. But Interactive Search Holdings? MyWay.com is recognizable, sort of, but what else is part of the company that's worth $343 million, even if it's mostly stock??

This public step helps explain why Ask Jeeves was so quick to come out in opposition to Yahoo's move on paid inclusion... more publicity.

[jfischel]

Smart move

Jeeves needs the traffic if it wants to compete with the big boys. This will double their size and make them a more legit player.

[pencoyd]

Aha... Excite and iWon are also part of the deal

I'm sure there is a bit of legacy traffic there.

[jfischel]

Excite sells again

Excite may be the "most sold company" in the past 10 years. I know of at least 3 flips in the past year.

[dmehus]

Seems like a great buy

What Ask Jeeves is buying is the distribution for its ad network. The more page views its network of sites gets, the better deal it can get from Google, which accounts for 67% of Ask Jeeves' revenue.

Separately, someone commented that Excite has been sold several times in the past year. It hasn't actually been sold, Interactive Search Holdings has just changed its name many times. Originally, it started out as iWon, Inc. then changed its name to Focus Interactive, Inc. after it acquired the assets of Excite.com in a bankruptcy court-ordered auction of Excite@Home in 2001. It originally operated Excite as a joint-venture between Focus Interactive and InfoSpace called The Excite Network, but in the past year and a half, it bought out InfoSpace's interest in The Excite Network.

Apparently, according to date provided by comScore Media Metrix, ISH properties collectively represent the 9th most visited Web destination. Pretty impressive, if you ask me.

By the way, I am by no means an expert, but I have always had Focus Interactive pegged as an acquisition target. I was thinking that Google or even Primedia's About.com division might buy it.

Doug Mehus
British Columbia, Canada

[WannaBteacher]

ask Jeeves and myway

I'm a user of Myway.com. I hope that my favorite homepage and search page aren't changed or affected by this merger or take over. Myway.com has only had me for a user for about 6 months. I stumbbled upon them by accicent will browsing with msn.net. I liked the idea of no pop-up ads and things that I didn't want to see. My pages loaded much faster just like they said. I've been a happy customer so far and I hope to stay one. But this is news to me to find out that ask jeeves wants a piece of myway. i can only hope that myway will not lose any of it's integrety. If anything, I hope that the site will improve and not go the other way. Myway company if you read this, please don't change!!
B.R.James