2.citysearch/fisher/5″/dt1st/mark2nd

No. 2

Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch Merger

It was one of the more dramatic power plays seen the tech industry this year, giving birth to a new pillar of L.A.’s new-media business.

Ticketmaster Online already had monthly sales of about $10 million when it joined up with CitySearch in August. The new company became the object of substantial industry interest because it combined CitySearch’s advertising-driven platform with Ticketmaster’s steadier transaction-based operations.

As an emerging Internet success story, the online city guide and ticket seller can help set the local tech industry on an upward path. Start-up companies routinely spin off from pillar companies as has been proven in Silicon Valley creating an environment that is funded by well-entrenched venture capital and staffed by the congregated talent pool.

Before going public, Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch underwent a dramatic rebirth. Born in Bill Gross’ new-media incubator Idealab! and responsible for over a dozen online city guides, CitySearch planned to launch a much-anticipated IPO last summer. That plan was scrubbed at the 11th hour, when the company announced a surprise merger with the online arm of Ticketmaster. The then-merged entity went public in December with what turned out to be one of the top five offerings in IPO history in terms of first-day price increases.

The meteoric stock has since skyrocketed into the $80 realm not bad for what is essentially a brand-new, unproven company.

Sara Fisher