Industry analysts have pegged fast-growing search as the third largest online market after e-commerce and advertising, and online marketing companies are broadening their reach to gain a foothold in it. The latest is multi-channel marketing company ValueClick Inc., which has acquired Search123.com Inc., a privately held pay-for-performance search engine marketing company, in a deal valued at $5 million. Search123, founded in 1999, operates a cost-per-click search engine using the auction model.
The acquisition expands ValueClick’s lineup of media offerings for its advertising customers into paid search and complements ValueClick's BeFree affiliate marketing business, the company says. “We have been interested in adding search marketing to our portfolio of digital marketing solutions, and Search123 is a great fit with our business objectives and a significant step toward completing our digital marketing solutions set,” says James Zarley, CEO of ValueClick.
Under the terms of the agreement, ValueClick acquires all outstanding equity interest in Search123 for $3.3 million in cash plus transaction costs and certain other liabilities. Search123 will continue to operate under its own name as a subsidiary of ValueClick.
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