The New York Times Company, which has been trying to shed its assets and focus on its newspaper and Web site, announced this morning it had completed the sale of About Group for $300 million in cash to IAC/InterActiveCorp. The About Group includes the internet sites About.com, ConsumerSearch.com and CalorieCount.com.
In a news release, the company said it plans to use the after-tax proceeds, which are worth about $290 million, for what it described as “general corporate purposes,†which means it could be used for anything. The sale of About was announced late last month.
The Times company originally bought About.com in 2005 for slightly more than $400 million. Through the worst years of the recession, as the newspaper made the transition to digital, the About Group helped increase the broader company's profits.
Earlier this summer, Alexia S. Quadrani, a media analyst at JPMorgan, said a sale of the About Group made financial sense because About.com no longer provided as much money to the Times Company. “I don't think it's a great strategic fit to the rest of the business,†she said at the time.
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