Internet publisher CNET Inc. Thursday acquired
comparison shopping service mySimon for $700
million.
CNET (CNET)
will issue approximately 11.3 million shares of its common stock for all outstanding mySimon shares.
In conjunction with the acquisition, CNET plans to change its name to
CNET Networks Inc. to reflect the company’s expansion of additional brands
under the CNET Networks banner. CNET.com will continue to be focused on
computers and technology and mySimon will maintain its own brand, management
team and staff.
The acquisition of mySimon enables CNET to expand its leading content model
into 250 categories. CNET said it currently generates
nearly 200,000 leads per day to 150 merchant partners.
According to Nielsen//NetRatings, during the online holiday shopping season,
comparison shopping sites experienced tremendous growth in traffic between
the months of November and December.
“Commerce enablers are bound to be one of the Web’s hottest sectors this
year,” Allen Weiner, vice president, analytical services at NetRatings, Inc.
“The marriage of CNET and mySimon comes directly on the heels of the 1999
holiday e-commerce season when we saw the emergence of commerce enablers as
important drivers to all sectors of e-commerce.”