Google In Talks To Purchase Yelp
NY Times
SAN FRANCISCO — In a sign that Google is interested in broadening its reach among local businesses, the search giant is in acquisition talks with Yelp, the review site for local businesses, according to three people with knowledge of the deal.
The two companies have had conversations for several years, but a more serious round of acquisition talks began two months ago, one of the people said late Thursday. The companies have discussed a price and are negotiating the details, but have not yet signed an agreement.
Both Google and Yelp declined to comment on Friday.
The people with knowledge of the deal would not disclose the acquisition price, but one said that it was more than $500 million, the figure cited by TechCrunch, the industry blog that first reported the news Thursday evening.
Yelp, which has raised $31 million in venture capital, is on track to bring in about $30 million in revenue this year, one person said.
Yelp, which was founded in 2004 by two PayPal veterans, Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons, dominates the market for local business listings and ads in big American cities, and has listings in Canada and Britain. It gets more visitors than its closest rival, Citysearch, and many of them review local businesses prolifically.
Yelp makes money selling sponsorships to these businesses. For $300 to $1,000 a month, their ads appear on top of search results and on the profile pages of competitors, and businesses can post slide shows of photographs and prevent competitors from advertising on their page.
Google has been showing greater interest in the local business market in the United States. It has expanded its profile pages for local businesses, which include location and hours, maps and reviews from other Web sites. In June, Google gave local businesses the ability to manage what people see on their profile pages, similar to what Yelp does.
Google has been reaching out to local businesses with simpler ways to advertise on the search engine and achieve better Google SEO results. It is also distributing stickers that businesses post in their windows and passers-by can scan with cellphones to get coupons or information about the business.
The deal between Google and Yelp could still unravel, one person said, particularly if another acquirer comes forward now that details have leaked.
Both Google and Yelp declined to comment on Friday.
The people with knowledge of the deal would not disclose the acquisition price, but one said that it was more than $500 million, the figure cited by TechCrunch, the industry blog that first reported the news Thursday evening.
Yelp, which has raised $31 million in venture capital, is on track to bring in about $30 million in revenue this year, one person said.
Yelp, which was founded in 2004 by two PayPal veterans, Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons, dominates the market for local business listings and ads in big American cities, and has listings in Canada and Britain. It gets more visitors than its closest rival, Citysearch, and many of them review local businesses prolifically.
Yelp makes money selling sponsorships to these businesses. For $300 to $1,000 a month, their ads appear on top of search results and on the profile pages of competitors, and businesses can post slide shows of photographs and prevent competitors from advertising on their page.
Google has been showing greater interest in the local business market in the United States. It has expanded its profile pages for local businesses, which include location and hours, maps and reviews from other Web sites. In June, Google gave local businesses the ability to manage what people see on their profile pages, similar to what Yelp does.
Google has been reaching out to local businesses with simpler ways to advertise on the search engine and achieve better Google SEO results. It is also distributing stickers that businesses post in their windows and passers-by can scan with cellphones to get coupons or information about the business.
The deal between Google and Yelp could still unravel, one person said, particularly if another acquirer comes forward now that details have leaked.
