Private-Equity Firm Buys Internet Brands

Internet Brands Inc., which runs more than 100 websites on topics such as cars, careers, health, home, money and travel, said it has agreed to be bought by private-equity firm Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners for about for $640 million.

The purchase price of $13.35 per share represents 47% premium to Friday's close. Internet Brands doesn't advertise its websites, but names them to attract surfers looking for general information, such as gardens.com, doityourself.com, loan.com, mortgage101.com and ultimatecoupons.com. The small company reported second-quarter revenue of $28.1 million, up 21% from a year earlier, and net income of $4.6 million, up 80%. The company also reported a 30% increase in unique visitor growth from a year earlier. Idealab, a technology startup incubator that owns a two-thirds voting stake in Internet Brands, is backing the deal. The purchase is expected to close in the fourth quarter and comes as private-equity firms have been active on the merger-and-acquisition front of late, both selling and buying assets.