Some other media companies have recently announced plans to split in two, but Barry Diller is going much further - he's splitting IAC (InterActive Corp.) into five publicly traded companies. HSN will again fly solo, as will Ticketmaster. New companies will split off the vacation businesses (Interval) and lending/real estate businesses (LendingTree), leaving IAC with the rest, primarily online media businesses and investments in other online ventures.
"We've been a complex enterprise almost from the very beginning 12 years ago, with hundreds of transactions over those years. And while we've created a lot of value, I've always believed our complexity and many mouthfuls of sentences to explain who we are and what our strategy is have hampered clarity and understanding with all our constituencies, particularly investors," said Diller. After the tax-free spin-offs, Diller will continue as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IAC. Mindy Grossman, Sean Moriarty, CD Davies and Craig Nash will continue as Chief Executive Officers of HSN, Ticketmaster, LendingTree and Interval respectively, and Bret Violette will continue as President of RealEstate.com.
How the company is going to be divided up
*After the spin-offs, IAC will still consist of:
1) The businesses currently comprising its Media & Advertising sector: Ask.com, Bloglines, Citysearch, CursorMania, IAC Advertising Solutions, Evite, Excite, InsiderPages, iWon, My Fun Cards, My Way, Popular Screensavers, Smiley Central, Webfetti and Zwinky;
2) Match.com, ServiceMagic, Shoebuy.com, Entertainment Publications and ReserveAmerica;
3) The businesses currently comprising its Emerging Businesses sector: Black Web Enterprises, BustedTees, CollegeHumor, GarageGames, Gifts.com, Green.com, InstantAction, Primal Ventures, Pronto, Very Short List, Vimeo and 23/6;
4) IAC's current investments in Active.com, Brightcove, FiLife, Medem, MerchantCircle, OpenTable, Points.com and SHOP Channel.
*HSN will include the primary businesses currently comprising IAC's Retailing segment, including HSN TV, hsn.com, and the Cornerstone Brands, Inc. portfolio of catalogs, web sites and retail locations, including Alsto's, Ballard Designs, Frontgate, Garnet Hill,
GrandinRoad, Improvements, Isabella Bird, Smith+Noble, The Territory Ahead and TravelSmith;
*Ticketmaster will consist of its domestic and international operations including Admission.com, Biletix, Billetnet, BillettService, Cottonblend, Echomusic, Kartenhaus.de, Lippupalvelu, LiveDaily, TicketService, Tick Tack Ticket, TicketWeb and Ticnet.se, as well as Ticketmaster's current investments in Frontline and iLike;
*Interval International will also include CondoDirect, Resort Quest Hawaii and VacationSource.com.
*LendingTree will also include RealEstate.com, Domania, GetSmart, Home Loan Center and iNest.
