QuinStreet Buys Insure.com Domain & Media Assets For $16 Million

topics

News From Us:

Our latest report; our new video section; and jobs with paidContent.org and paidContent:UK

QuinStreet Buys Insure.com Domain & Media Assets For $16 Million

QuinStreet, the Foster City, CA-based vertical media and marketing firm that is in the process of buying the Internet.com division from WebMediaBrands (NSDQ: WEBM), has paid what some are saying is the highest ever for a domain name: $16 million for Insure.com, and its related media assets (unclear what those are, which may explain the supposed rather inflated price). We have a query out to QuinStreet about what exactly did the company buy besides the domain name and will update it when we hear back.

Quin is buying the Internet.com division for $18 million. Release.

Insure.com is a Nasdaq-traded public company, and was founded in 1984 as Quotesmith Corporation. It primarily functions as a consumer info service and companion insurance brokerage service that caters to the needs of insurance shoppers. With this sale, the company will change its name to Life Quotes, focusing on its national brokerage services, insurance agents, call center operations, customer and prospect lists, and nearly all of its current inbound affiliate and traffic partnerships. The company bought the domain name in 2001 for $1.6 million.

Meanwhile, for QuinStreet, likely Insure.com will morph into an info website with online leads, a bit like BankRate (which was recently acquired by Apax Partners for $571 million in cash).

Related Stories

Rafat Ali

@rafatali Oct 9, 2009 9:09 PM ET

Posted In: Money, M&A & Venture Capital, Mergers & Acquisitions, quinstreet

latest headlines

Rafat Ali

You people are touchy…I think I make myself pretty clear in the headline and the story. Rest, you all can argue among yourself. Meanwhile, on Monday, I'll get the details of what exactly QuinStreet bought with this. Until then….

doug

Rafat,

If you believe that it was more than a domain name that was purchased, then why include the following in your post?

"...what some are saying is the highest ever for a domain name…"

So if you're not saying this, then who exactly are the "some" that are saying this? Ah, yes, the mythical "some" that makes posts like this seem like they were well researched.

Quinstreet is known for a running a very buttoned down acquisition process with hard revenue and/or traffic metrics that acquisition targets must fit into. They either bought revenue (and maybe EBITDA) or organic traffic when they bought this thing. Based on my reading of your sacrosanct press release, I'd bet traffic which means they bought a lot more than a domain name. Of course you'll argue that you never suggested that it was only a domain name.

Ned

how can you call a price "rather inflated" when you don't know what it includes?

Rafat Ali

hey steve
that was funny :)

steve

rafat,

i certainly hope when you moved to laid back new york that you don't lose that edge the in-yer-face west coast has groomed into you.

cheers!

Rafat Ali

doug
did you read the post? i said "and its related media assets (unclear what those are, which may explain the rather inflated price)" they are NOT buying all insure.com, the website that you see up there. AND, the release also says something pretty similar. so you might want to read that too.

doug

Rafat,

The highest ever for a domain name? Really? You're better than that. Take 5 seconds and have a look at the site—it's clearly more than a domain name.

Doug