New York Times acquires about.com

Filed in archive Venture Capital

Well I'm a bit surprised good old NYT has won the bidding for about.com:

"The New York Times Company announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire About, Inc., a leading online consumer information provider, from PRIMEDIA Inc. (NYSE:PRM) in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $410 million. The acquisition is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed late this quarter or early in the second quarter."

" About, Inc., through its Web site About.com, provides "practical solutions for everyday problems." Ranking among the most frequently visited sites, About.com reaches an audience of 22 million unique visitors each month. Its network of nearly 500 experts, known as guides, create Web sites on thousands of topics - from personal finance to consumer electronics to history and geography. About's guides serve as a filter for information found on the Internet, create dynamic original content and help users find the information they need. About.com has the largest archive of original online content, which provides significant advertising opportunities."

Surely a nice fit for the NYT although I personally thought they might go for a blogging network in future. Let's hope that the NYT has a better strategy than Primedia...