The deal represents an good opportunity for EDGAR Online, which provides business, financial and competitive information derived from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission data to the corporate and Internet market, to take advantage of the fire sale at Individual Investor. The financial media company, which is owned by Jonathan Steinberg, has been seeking a buyer for the company since mid-June, when it became apparent that capital was needed to sustain the business. Steinberg is the son of famed corporate financier Saul Steinberg, the chairman of the troubled Reliance Group Holdings.

Although terms of the transaction weren't disclosed, EDGAR Online did state that it purchased InsiderTrader for approximately one times revenue. For the latest six months of the year, Individual Investor recorded revenue from its online operations of $2.25 million.

"We will immediately leverage InsiderTrader's strong customer base and product offering across our corporate sales and Internet channels,'' said Susan Strausberg, CEO of EDGAR Online, Inc. "Insider trading and institutional holdings data is a must have for banks, funds and other c-level decision makers and we intend to aggressively market these products to the corporate marketplace."

Jonathan Moreland, the creator of InsiderTrader, will join EDGAR Online as a vice president with responsibilities in corporate sales and product development.