IAC/InterActive to Split Into 5 Companies

IAC/INTERACTIVE TO SPLIT INTO 5 COMPANIES
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Geraldine Fabrikant]
Barry Diller will see if the parts of IAC/InterActiveCorp, his grab bag of Internet companies and services, are greater than the whole. In a move that is aimed at bolstering IAC’s lagging share price, simplifying its convoluted corporate structure and maybe even placating his old partner John C. Malone, Mr. Diller announced that he was breaking the $18 billion company into five publicly traded businesses. The split is a sharp shift in strategy for a company that had nurtured the image of an opportunistic conglomerate eager to acquire new and appealing businesses. It also signals a rare retreat for Mr. Diller, who was certain of his ability to persuade Wall Street that his shopping bag of companies would pay off for investors. But the company’s share price was off almost 14 percent for the year. The move, which follows split-ups at Viacom, Belo Corporation and E. W. Scripps & Company, is further confirmation that the Wall Street fad for media conglomerates has passed, replaced by a vogue in pure-play media companies.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/technology/06diller.html?ref=todayspaper
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* Hoping to Grow, Diller Prunes Empire
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119427094700182476.html?mod=todays_us_marketplace
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* Diller to Split His Conglomerate 5 Ways
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR2007110500252.html

* The Spinoffs
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/05/AR2007110501868.html

* IAC/InterActive splits into 5 companies
Abandoning its longtime strategy of being an Internet conglomerate.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20071106/iac06.art.htm