Ybrant Digital acquires Lycos.com for US$36 million

US based search firm Lycos.com receives 60 million unique visitors across the globe

Hyderabad based company Ybrant Digital has acquired a search engine firm named Lycos.com for US$36 million (approximately Rs 165 crore) in an all-cash deal.

Ybrant Digital acquires Lycos.com for US$36 million

For the uninitiated, Ybrant Digital is in the business of display advertising and search marketing through its various online ad networks such as MediosOne and Oridian, spread across 20 countries. Lycos.com, one of the first web-based search engines, was launched in 1995 in the US. Lycos was sold to Terra Networks in 2000 and was acquired by Korea based Internet firm, named Daum Communications, in 2004 for $95 million.

Currently, it claims that it receives about 60 million unique visitors globally. Of that, 15 million unique visitors arrive from the US alone. "The search engine expects to earn revenue of $32 million and profit of about $6 million in 2010. Most of its revenue is routed from the US market," says Suresh Reddy, chairperson and chief executive officer, Ybrant Digital, in a conversation with afaqs!.

He reveals, "Initially, we will pay $20 million in cash to Daum Communications now, while the rest of the amount will be paid by March 2011."

Reddy adds, "We are mainly into selling display advertising solutions but Lycos' acquisition will enable us to strengthen our search marketing business as well. Also, the acquisition provides us a new media platform to sell. Thus our sales team, spread over 20 countries, will sell ad inventory available with Lycos. Apart from this, it's always beneficial to acquire a known brand."

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