The publisher of the eponymous Zagat guides, started by the Zagat family in 1979 as a two-page typed list of New York restaurants, is now on sale. The Zagat family has hired Goldman Sachs to seek a buyer for the company, reports NYT, citing sources. The company, officially called Zagat Survey, sold 5.5 million print guides in 2007, and has a robust online and mobile presence.

Among the possible buyers could include IAC/InterActiveCorp, which owns Citysearch; Bruce Wasserstein’s company, publisher of New York Magazine; or even News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), the story says. Then, there could be a slew of non-traditional buyers who could value the company for its digital presence, including mobile guides: among them could be any mobile operators like AT&T (NYSE: T) or Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ), the story says (though that seems unlikely…why not just cut a deal instead?).

Tough to say what the price could be, since the business is private and small relative to the brand’s footprint. The story says it could be valued at more than $200 million. With the rise of consumer reviews of restaurants and hotels online (and with strong local sites like Yelp), surely the company’s business is facing tough competition. Also, Zagat’s online business has largely remained a paid subscription service, thus capping its growth. Whoever buys it could open it up to advertisers. The site has deals with the likes of Google (NSDQ: GOOG), Facebook, Priceline and others.

In 2000, Zagat family sold off a third of its business, and was valued at more than $100 million. The buyers were investment group led by General Atlantic Partners, and included Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers and Allen & Company. Nathan Myhrvold, a former CTO of Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT), also invested, as did Nicholas Negroponte.

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