Los Angeles-based Ticketmaster is acquiring closely held family
activity operation Evite.com in a deal that will expand access for the
latter’s users to event ticketing as well as Citysearch content.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but published reports
said the price was less than $25 million.
Ticketmaster CEO John Pleasants said the acquisition is a “perfect fit.”
Evite.com, which says it provides a “fun and
easy way to get people together,” has about a million unique users per month.
“Evite.com’s members are looking for a free and convenient way to organize
events and activities,” he said. “Citysearch helps people find and plan
what they want to do by providing them with the best local information
available on their city.
“The combination of Evite.com and Ticketmaster
results in a convenient way for users to obtain information about, and access
to, events and to take action by inviting others, making reservations or
purchasing tickets.”
Members use Evite.com to plan activities ranging from book clubs to baby
showers and concert events to weekend getaways.
“Our users can now easily go from inspiration to action,” said Josh
Silverman, CEO of Evite. “This combination will enhance our users online
experience, helping them to spend more quality time with the people they care
about off-line.”
The Evite.com operation, founded in 1997 in San Francisco, will be relocated
to the Citysearch.com office in Pasadena, Calif., Ticketmaster said.
Ticketmaster is majority owned by USA Networks Inc. and is a
division of its Information and Services unit. Ticketmaster was formed
through the combination of the operations of Ticketmaster Online-Citysearch
and Ticketmaster Corp. in January 2001 and renamed Ticketmaster.
