• New Products
  • Reviews
  • Roundups
  • Forums
  • All Brands
  • All Topics
  • News
  • Articles
  • What’s New Today?
  • Newsletter Sign-up
ecoustics.com
  • New Products
    • Logitech G560 PC Gaming Speakers Light Up a Room
    • GoPro HERO Action Cam More Fun, Less Cost
    • Focal Listen Wireless Chic Headphones Match any Style
    • Huawei P20 Pro Smartphone Triples Up the Camera (2018 model)
    • Apple Refreshes 9.7-inch iPad with Pencil Support (6th gen, 2018)
    • A/V Receivers
    • Digital Cameras
    • Loudspeakers
    • Smartphones
  • Reviews
    • JBL E55BT Quincy Edition Wireless Headphones Review
    • Master & Dynamic MH40 Headphone Review: Listen in Style
    • Archt One Wireless Speaker Review: 360-degree Musical Bliss
    • Riva Turbo X Bluetooth Speaker Review
    • Koss Pro4S Headphones Review
    • Headphones
    • HDTV & 4K TV
    • Sound Bars
    • Wireless Speakers
  • Roundups
    • Apple iPhone X Review Roundup
    • Apple AirPods Review Roundup
    • Apple iPhone 8 Plus Review Roundup
    • Samsung Galaxy S8 Review Roundup
    • Apple iPhone 7 Review Roundup
  • Forums
  • Brands
    • Apple
    • LG Electronics
    • Microsoft
    • Panasonic
    • Samsung
    • Sony
    • Yamaha
    • All Brands
  • News
  • Articles
  • Topics
    • Home Audio
    • Home Video
    • Home Theater
    • Portable Electronics
    • Photography
    • Car Audio
    • Computers
    • All Topics
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Pinterest

  • Instagram

  • Google+

  • YouTube

  • LinkedIn

  • Tumblr

  • RSS

Ask.com to Acquire Lexico, Owner of Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com, and Reference.com

484783.jpg
Loading, please wait...

Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Reference.com

Transaction Grows Ask.com’s User Base and Strengthens Its Position in the General Search Market

Ask.com, a leading search engine and wholly-owned business of IAC NASDAQ: IACI, today announced an agreement to acquire Lexico Publishing Group LLC – the owner of Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com, and Reference.com, in an all-cash transaction. More than half a billion monthly worldwide searches consist of dictionary, thesaurus, and encyclopedia queries, according to comScore.

The Lexico acquisition will grow the Ask Network user base to more than 145 million unduplicated monthly unique users (UUs) worldwide, an increase of 11%, according to March 2008 comScore data. This would rank the Ask Network as the 9th largest Web property in the world – ahead of Apple Inc. and Facebook – in monthly worldwide UUs (comScore World Metrix, March 2008). Ask.com and Lexico’s demographics are nearly identical, creating strong potential for cycling traffic between both companies’ user bases.

“Lexico is a lean and fast-growing business with rapid top- and bottom- line growth, and is a natural addition for Ask.com,” said Jim Safka, CEO of Ask.com. “More than 30 percent of all searches conducted on Ask.com are in the reference category. In fact, ‘dictionary’ was the second-most searched term on Ask.com in 2007. At the same time, Lexico’s consumers frequently seek out a search engine immediately before and after using one of Lexico’s sites. This acquisition expands Ask.com’s reach and aligns perfectly with our customers’ needs.”

Lexico’s key strengths include:

  • 15.6 M monthly UUs, growing 29% year-over-year (comScore, March 2008)
  • Lexico sites grew three times faster than the global search market, which grew 9.5% year-over-year (comScore, March 2008)
  • Profitable, high double-digit growth for the past two years
  • 88% of traffic consists of users who directly type Lexico sites’ URLs into their browsers, demonstrating brand strength and minimal reliance on intermediary sites

“I can’t imagine a better home for Lexico sites than Ask.com, given its leadership in search technology and product innovation,” said Brian Kariger, CEO and Co-Founder of Lexico. “This integration will give the Lexico sites a better consumer experience and even more useful for finding answers.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions.

About Ask.com
Ask.com, a wholly-owned business of IAC NASDAQ: IACI, is one of the leading general search engines on the Internet. The Ask Network of sites has more than 130 million worldwide unique monthly users according to March 2008 comScore data. Ask.com syndicates its search technology and advertising solutions to a network of affiliate partners.

Lexico Publishing Group, LLC
Founded in 1995, Lexico Publishing Group, LLC is a leading provider of free online reference services including Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com and Reference.com. Lexico was recently named one of America’s 500 fastest-growing private companies by Inc. Magazine, and has been called “the best general English-language dictionary online” by Web Guide magazine. Lexico Publishing provides Dictionary.com Word of the Day Mailing List, a daily e-mail vocabulary lesson; Thesaurus.com, the award-winning online version of Roget’s New Millennium™ Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases; Reference.com, an encyclopedia, almanac, and general reference guide; and CleverKeys, free software that gives instant access to definitions and synonyms from Windows and Macintosh programs. Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com, and Reference.com combined to serve more than 28 million unique visitors as of March 2008. The Word of the Day Mailing List has more than 1 million subscribers.

Where to Buy
Loading, please wait...

Leave a Comment

Last Updated:
May 15, 2008
Brian Mitchell @ecoustics

Founder & CEO, ecoustics.com

Related Items
  1. New Products

More in New Products

Logitech G560 PC Gaming Speakers Light Up a Room

Brian Mitchell4 days ago
View This

GoPro HERO Action Cam More Fun, Less Cost

Brian Mitchell5 days ago
View This

Focal Listen Wireless Chic Headphones Match any Style

Brian MitchellMarch 29, 2018
View This

Huawei P20 Pro Smartphone Triples Up the Camera (2018 model)

Brian MitchellMarch 27, 2018
View This

Apple Refreshes 9.7-inch iPad with Pencil Support (6th gen, 2018)

Brian MitchellMarch 27, 2018
View This

Sony Releases Top-of-the-line 85-inch 4K TVs for 2018

Brian MitchellMarch 27, 2018
View This
Scroll for more
Tap

Where to Buy

Loading, please wait...

Top Categories (663)

A/V Receivers, LCD/OLED TVs, Smartphones, Sound Bars, Subwoofers, Streaming Players, Wireless Speakers, ...

Home Audio (2,019)

Loudspeakers, Amplifiers, CD Players, Digital Music Systems, D/A Converters, Stereo Receivers, Preamplifiers, Phono, Integrated Amps, ...

Home Theater (738)

A/V Receivers, Speaker Systems, Remote Controls, A/V Preamplifiers, Home Theater in a Box, Sound Bars, ...

Home Video (1,768)

HDTV & 4K TV, Streaming Players, Projectors, DVR, DVD Players, Satellite TV, Video Game Consoles, ...

Portable Electronics (2,884)

Cell Phones, MP3 Players, Tablets, Headphones, E-Readers, Fit Bands, Smartwatches, ...

Computers (2,575)

Laptops, Monitors, Desktop PC, Hard Drives, Scanners, Networking, Peripherals, PC Speakers, Printers, ...

Photography (1,220)

Digital Cameras, Camcorders, Camera Lenses, Photo Printers, DSLR Cameras, Mirrorless Cameras, ...

Car Audio (250)

Head Units, Car Navigation Systems, Car Speakers, Car Subwoofers, Car Amplifiers, Car Accessories, ...

Brands (452)

Sony, Samsung, Apple, LG Electronics, Canon, Panasonic, Pioneer, Toshiba, Microsoft, HP, ...
ecoustics.com
ecoustics is the unbiased resource for the latest technology news, coolest gadgets, and best consumer electronics. Plus get product reviews, roundups and deals from all over the web on everything electronic. Read more →

Copyright © 1999-2018 ecoustics, LLC | About Us | Contact | Newsletter | Privacy

JVC KD-AVX44 El Kameleon CD/DVD Head Unit
Acer Aspire 8920 and 6920 Gemstone Blue Notebooks