The one-time focus of an Eliot Spitzer spyware lawsuit, Intermix has been acquired by Rupert Murdoch’s company for about $580 million USD.
NewsCorp has been aggressive in ramping up its focus on Internet properties. After announcing a reorganization of its US web properties into a new business unit, Fox Interactive Media, the company discussed its pickup of Los Angeles-based Intermix.
“Intermix’s brands, such as MySpace.com, are some of the web’s hottest properties and resonate with the same audiences that are most attracted to Fox’s news, sports and entertainment offerings,” said News Corporation’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Rupert Murdoch, in a press release.
“We see a great opportunity to combine the popularity of Intermix’s sites, particularly MySpace, with our existing online assets to provide a richer experience for today’s Internet users.”
NewsCorp seems willing to accept a risk that Microsoft reportedly avoided when the Redmond-based software giant declined to follow through on a reported purchase of behavioral marketing company Claria.
Intermix had recently settled a suit initiated by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, paying nearly $8 million USD to end the litigation. Mr. Spitzer had accused the company of false advertising and deceptive business practices in the way it distributed software. The settlement came with Intermix not admitting any wrongdoing.
While NewsCorp has been touting the MySpace.com domain and the popularity of its properties, the real key to the acquisition may be Intermix’s Alena division. Billed as its analytical optimization e-commerce division, Alena conducted Intermix’s online and traditional media campaigns.
NewsCorp expects its web traffic to now double to around 46 million unique monthly users. That presents a tremendous gain in what the company can charge for various online advertising campaigns.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
