Search engine firm GoTo.com Inc. Thursday
added auction services to its offerings by purchasing auction aggregator AuctionRover.com, Inc. for
approximately $175 million in stock.
GoTo.com (GOTO) will issue 3.47 million shares of its stock to acquire AuctionRover, a one-stop resource for online auctions. The
transaction is expected to close in April.
AuctionRover simultaneously searches a number of auctions with crawler
technology to find the best auctions for a specific item. Its acquisition by
GoTo adds to its strategy to building a comprehensive way for consumers to
find the most relevant products and services across the Internet, said Ted Meisel, GoTo’s
chief executive officer.
“GoTo is dedicated to helping consumers find what they’re looking for, and
AuctionRover is a natural extension to our marketplace,” said Meisel.
AuctionRover competes in the auction space with other aggregators such as AuctionWatch and Bidder’s Edge, which was recently
purchased by OpenSite Technologies
Inc. Those aggregators have been in fights with auction powerhouse eBay Inc. (EBAY)
over access to eBay’s auction listings. Unlike its competitors, AuctionRover
has a licensing agreement to provide eBay listings information.
GoTo.com differs from other search engines by offering a pay-for-position
model for search results. No word on how auction rover’s search will be
incorporated into the GoTo.com platform.
internet.com is an investor in AuctionRover.com.
