HomeAdvisor Owner IAC Makes Bid For Angie's List

(RTTNews) - IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI), the owner of HomeAdvisor, as well as a number of other prominent Internet brands, has announced a bid to acquire online service rating site Angie's List, Inc. (ANGI) for $8.75 per share.

The proposal was declared in a letter delivered to the Angie's List board of directors on Wednesday.

The bid represents a 50 percent premium to the Angie's List stock price prior to October 12, when information leaked that suggested that Angie's List could be looking for a merger.

The deal as proposed is structured as an all-cash transaction. However, IAC said it would also consider combining Angie's List with its HomeAdvisor unit in an all-stock deal that would avoid taxes.

IAC owns are large number of recognizable Internet brands, including Ask.com, Dictionary.com, Vimeo and The Daily Beast. The company also currently owns Match.com, though an IPO for that unit is scheduled for next week.

On October 12, a letter from TCS Capital to the board of Angie's List was made public. The letter advocated that Angie's List pursue a deal with HomeAdvisor.

Joey Levin, CEO of IAC/InterActiveCorp, said combining Angie's List with HomeAdvisor would "cement our position as the premier home services platform." The combined Angie's List/HomeAdvisor unit would have more than $700 million in revenue, IAC added, along with more than $35 billion in gross transaction value and over an estimated 15 million unique visitors per month.

"We are fully committed to this transaction and are confident that both Angie's List stockholders and our stockholders will recognize the value of our proposal," Levin added.

In the letter, IAC disclosed that it met with representatives of Angie's List last month, but the board decided not to pursue a transaction. The letter also said that the deal "has the highest priority" for IAC.

In its last earnings report, released in late October, Angie's List reported third-quarter revenue of $87 million, up from $81 million in the same period of 2014. The company also posted a very slim profit for the quarter, reversing a $5 million loss in the previous year.