IAC's Ask.com to Buy Lexico

The company expects to expand the Ask network by 150 million users by acquiring the company, which publishes Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com and Reference.com.
By Robert Holmes ,

Search engine and

IAC/InterActiveCorp

(IACI)

-owned business Ask.com will acquire Lexico Publishing Group in a deal that is expected to grow the Ask network by nearly 150 million users.

Lexico owns Web sites Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com and Reference.com. The acquisition will be an all-cash transaction, although terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Ask.com said the deal would rocket the company's network to the ninth spot among Web properties in the world -- ahead of

Apple

(AAPL) - Get Report

and Facebook -- in monthly worldwide unique users, according to

comScore

(SCOR) - Get Report

data.

"Lexico is a lean and fast-growing business with rapid top- and bottom-line growth, and is a natural addition for Ask.com," said Jim Safka, CEO of Ask.com, in a statement. "More than 30 percent of all searches conducted on Ask.com are in the reference category. This acquisition expands Ask.com's reach and aligns perfectly with our customers' needs."

IAC closed Wednesday at $23.73.

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