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Ask Jeeves Bought for $2 billion

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the jeeves-let-me-axe-u-sumthin dept.

RMX writes "CNet's reporting that Ask Jeeves is being bought by InterActive Corp for $2 billion. Ask Jeeves (ask.com, excite.com, iwon.com) and InterActive Corp (expedia, ticketmaster, match.com, citysearch). This marks a nice comeback for Ask Jeeves, whose stock was quite a roller coaster ride during the 2000-2003 .com crash. Are the good times back?"

5 of 168 comments (clear)

  1. Did anyone by OAB_X · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Really ever use ask jeeves? I mean, I used it once or twice several years ago, but is it really that popular to be bought for 2 billion? I cant think of anyone who uses it consistently, or even rarely.

    1. Re:Did anyone by yelvington · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's not just about AskJeeves, it's about the entire stable of sites/brands/technologies that it owns: Teoma (search technology), Excite, iWon, MyWay and Bloglines. In that collection, there's actually more usage outside the Ask brand that inside it. Here's a recent snapshot.

  2. The Poster Askes by Kushy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Are the good times back?

    Yes they are just not for the USA. Its a good time for India and China, with cheap ass CEO's CFO's CTO's, all outsourcing.

    I really do not see any 'good times' ahead for IT ppl in the US.

    --
    "The word "genius" isn't applicable in football. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein," - Joe Theisman
  3. Bloglines too by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Ask Jeeves, Inc. also owns Bloglines.

    Did InterActive own any blog type services prior to this acquisition?

  4. Sounds about right... by magicclams · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Given that the company made about $86 million last year, the selling price ($1.9 billion) represents a price to earnings ratio of ~22...a bit on the high side, but not out of line with a company whose earnings more than doubled last year. Given that this is a profitable survivor acquiring another profitable survivor, I don't think this represents a slide back into the (good? bad?) old days of multi-billion dollar valuations for stocks that barely have a business plan. As for that profitability, it may seem odd to those of us who take it for granted that a query like "prescription drugs canada" makes more sense than "Where can I buy prescription drugs in Canada?", but we're tech geeks. Ask around..."Jeeves" is the portal of choice for the techno-phobic middle-aged and elderly, who typically have a much higher money-to-brains ratio than computer geeks.