By Lisa Kerner
Charlotte, N.C., Sept. 17 - InfoSpace, Inc.'s board of directors agreed to sell the company's online directory business including its online yellow and white pages services to Idearc Inc. for $225 million in cash.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2007.
InfoSpace said it plans to return net proceeds from the sale to its shareholders as a special cash distribution. By using part of its net operation loss carry-forwards, InfoSpace can offset most of the taxable gain resulting from the sale, which means more cash for shareholders. InfoSpace expects to have cash in excess of $400 million at the transaction's close.
"In addition to unlocking the value of our director[y] business that was not reflected in the company's market valuation, this transaction is extremely tax efficient, allowing us to capitalize on our net operating losses to significantly maximize the cash proceeds from the sale," InfoSpace chairman and chief executive officer Jim Voelker said in a company news release.
InfoSpace was advised by Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
Bellevue, Wash.-based InfoSpace develops technologies used to locate content on the internet.
Idearc is a yellow and white pages directory provider located in Dallas.
| Acquirer: | Idearc Inc.
|
| Target: | InfoSpace, Inc.'s online directory business
|
| Transaction value: | $225 million
|
| Announcement date: | Sept. 17
|
| Expected closing: | End of 2007
|
| Stock price for target: | Nasdaq: INSP: $13.25 on Sept. 14
|
© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere.
For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.
