Lycos announced today it acquired
online community operator Tripod, Inc.
in a deal valued at $58 million in stock.
Framingham, MA-based Lycos said the acquisition is aimed at adding a
substantial Web-based community element to its offerings and increasing
overall traffic to the search and navigation guide.
The company said the deal marks the merger of two of the top ten most
visited Web sites, with Tripod boasting over 100 million page views per
month and more than 1,500,000 member home pages.
According to Lycos, the Tripod acquisition also enables it to target the
“highly desirable” 18-34 demographic, gain a new audience of about 4,000
new registered members per day, and deliver more targeted ad categories and
vehicles to advertisers.
“The unbeatable combination of Lycos and Tripod exemplifies the evolution and
growing importance of community on the Web,” said Bob Davis, CEO of Lycos.
“The end result of this new generation online service is a single place
where all users can communicate, network, play and interact within
communities that
meet consumers’ interests, as well as access the most popular free Internet
services today.”
Tripod becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Lycos with Bo Peabody remaining
as CEO of Tripod and Chairman Dick Sabot becoming a member of the Lycos
Board of Directors.
