No one knows how the $505 million sale of Angie’s List Inc. to New York media and internet company IAC will affect local employment, but the buyer doesn’t seem interested in slash and burn.
The home services marketplace did not specify it planned to sell itself, but hiring investment bankers is typically the first step in doing so. In a press release, CEO Scott Durchslag said only that the goal was “to achieve the full potential of our new platform.”
The home-services review company earned $4.8 million in the second quarter, marking the fifth time in the last seven quarters it has turned a profit. But revenue continued to slip as the company overhauled its business model.
The goal is to boost user traffic—which has been growing slowly lately—in order to spur service-provider spending, which drives 80 percent of Angie’s List revenue.
The company announced the plan in March and debuted it in some markets last month. CEO Scott Durchslag, who hopes the move will spark revenue growth, said he’s encouraged by the early results.
CEO Scott Durchslag told analysts he will reinvigorate growth by dropping the paywall, which he said will open the floodgates to a deluge of new customers.
TCS Capital founder Eric Semler and two other outsiders are joining the board under a settlement announced Tuesday morning. The pact bars TCS from increasing its ownership stake beyond 12.75 percent. It currently owns 10.7 percent.
The 21-year-old Indianapolis-based home-services reviews and marketplace firm announced a 2015 profit of $10.2 million, up from a loss of $12 million in 2014.
Angie’s List Inc. is rejiggering its marketing strategy, a move that includes hiring a new branding agency to help get the home-services giant growing rapidly again.
The Indianapolis company said in a press release that "it is premature to conclude that a strategic transaction is in the best interests of Angie's List shareholders."
Monetizing free users is just part of the vision that new CEO Scott Durchslag, who took the helm of Angie’s List in September, is laying out to reinvigorate the struggling home-services company, which has seen revenue growth slow notably since last year.
Scott Durchslag has more than 20 years of experience leading e-commerce and mobile technology initiatives, Angie’s List said, including stints at Expedia and Skype.
