USA Interactive Adding Lending Tree to Portfolio

You can add consumer loans to the services Barry Diller plans to sell over the Internet.

Diller's USA Interactive(USAI Quote) said Monday it agreed to acquire Lending Tree (TREE Quote) for stock worth between $626 million and $734 million, based on an exchange formula.

Lending Tree describes itself as an online lending exchange, acting as a middleman between consumers wanting loans and lenders such as banks and realtors. It claims to have facilitated about $48 billion in loans since its inception in 1996 and recently entered the real estate market. ...