OpenMail Buys InfoSpace for $45M

By Garrett Reim
Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Email marketing-services company OpenMail of Venice has agreed to purchase search engine InfoSpace for $45 million in cash.

Infospace is a division of Blucora of Bellevue, Wash., a financial software developer. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year and Infospace’s 100 employees will join OpenMail.

InfoSpace was founded in 1996 and went public in 1998. The dot-com company’s stock price soared to more than $1,000 a share by 2000 before plummeting to around $2.67 a share by 2002. Later in 2012, the company acquired tax-preparation software company TaxAct and changed its name to Blucora.

It is not clear how OpenMail financed the acquisition of Infospace. The company, which was founded in 2013, has funded its launch with an undisclosed amount of investment from the Raine Group and its founding team.

OpenMail did not immediately respond to a request for interview.

Technology reporter Garrett Reim can be reached at greim@labusinessjournal.com. Follow @garrettreim on Twitter for the latest in L.A. tech news.

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