BARRON'S – Oct 7 – Greg Blatt, a deal-savvy CEO, is leading IAC/InterActiveCorp's transformation. IAC retains 23 operating businesses and more than 150 Web and media-related brands, all of which garner 5.91 billion page views per month. Blatt cut his teeth in mergers and acquisitions. In nearly two years as CEO, Blatt has completed nine deals of his own, costing $700M. The wheeling and dealing that defined IAC might well continue, although Blatt predicts that the company's two main businesses—online dating and Internet search—are here to stay. IAC dominates the former through Match.com and 30 other dating sites, and offers search services through Ask.com and dozens of apps. Combined, these businesses accounted for ~75% of the company's $2B in revenue in 2011. Half of Match.com subscribers sign on to the site with a mobile device. But there no longer is a Match.com iPhone app. IAC pulled it because Apple wanted 30% of Match.com revenue generated through an iPhone app, a proportion Blatt calls egregious compared with the 2% to 3% retailers pay to credit-card companies on the Internet. Match.com switched to an HTML5 application.
by Dyan Machan
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