ValueClick, Inc. (Nasdaq: VCLK) (www.valueclick.com) has acquired Investopedia (www.investopedia.com), a leading financial information and investing education web site, from Forbes, Inc. for approximately $42 million in cash. Founded in 1999, Investopedia provides consumers with a comprehensive library of financial terms, articles, tutorials and investing education tools, such as virtual trading simulators and exam preparation materials.
JEGI CLARITY (www.jegiclarity.com) of New York, NY, the leading independent investment bank for media, information, marketing services, and related technologies, represented Forbes in this transaction and acted as its exclusive financial advisor.
“Investopedia gives us great content, organic traffic and established advertiser relationships in the important financial services advertising vertical, as well as an experienced team and immediate synergy opportunities with ValueClick Brands and ValueClick Media,” said Jim Zarley, CEO of ValueClick. “We welcome the Investopedia team to ValueClick and look forward to working with them as we extend our capabilities in this key vertical.”
Investopedia, based in Edmonton, Canada, has built nearly 30,000 pieces of evergreen financial related content and develops an additional 7,000 pieces of content each year. Investopedia generates the majority of its traffic organically and monetizes primarily by selling cost-per-impression display advertising through its direct sales force. The site attracts 2.2 million unique U.S. visitors per month (comScore, June 2010) and has a highly engaged audience that includes 3.1 million newsletter and 1.7 million e-mail subscribers, and 1.3 million stock simulator users.
Investopedia’s management team and employee base have been retained by ValueClick and the business will run as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ValueClick, Inc. within its Owned & Operated segment. “The Investopedia team is excited to join ValueClick,” said Kristina Milke, Managing Director of Investopedia. “Our strengths in efficient content development and organic traffic complement ValueClick’s strengths in traffic acquisition and monetization, and I believe the combination will benefit both organizations. We look forward to working with the ValueClick team.”
ValueClick has acquired the assets and assumed certain liabilities of Investopedia from Forbes for approximately $42 million in cash. For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2010, Investopedia is expected to generate approximately $10 million in revenue and $5 million in adjusted-EBITDA.
Forbes’ experience with JEGI CLARITY in the sale of Investopedia was impressive. They quickly grasped the essence and value of the company and identified a range of serious potential buyers. The process was efficient, and the outcome of the sale to ValueClick clearly was very beneficial to all involved.
Tim Forbes, President & COO, Forbes