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| Formerly |
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|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| |
| ISIN | US44891N2080[1] |
| Industry | Media |
| Predecessors | Silver King Communications |
| Founded | August 24, 1995; 30 years ago (1995-08-24) |
| Headquarters | IAC Building,, United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Barry Diller (chairman) |
| Products | |
| Revenue |  US$3.81 billion (2024) |
 −US$4.2 million (2024) | |
| −US$540 million (2024) | |
| Total assets | US$9.55 billion (2024) |
| Total equity | US$6.28 billion (2024) |
Number of employees | 8,300 (2024) |
| Subsidiaries | SeeBusinesses |
| Website | www |
| Footnotes / references [2] | |
IAC Inc. is an Americanholding company that owns brands across 100 countries, mostly inmedia andInternet.[3] The company originated in 1996 asHSN Inc. as the holding company ofHome Shopping Network andUSA Network before changing its name toUSA Networks, Inc. in 1999 and its television assets were sold toVivendi in 2002. Those are now owned today byNBCUniversal, a division ofComcast.
The company is incorporated under theDelaware General Corporation Law[4] but is headquartered inNew York City.[5]Joey Levin, who previously led the company's search and applications segment,[6] served as chief executive officer from June 2015 until April 2025.[7]
| 1909 | Independent Moving Pictures founded |
|---|---|
| 1912 | Universal Pictures is founded afterIMP merged with smaller studios |
| 1926 | NBC is founded |
| 1928 | Walter Lantz Productions is established |
| 1943 | MCA Inc. establishes Revue Studios (laterUniversal Television) |
| 1963 | American Cable Systems is founded |
| 1964 | Universal Studios Hollywood opens |
| 1968 | American Cable Systems rebrands toComcast |
| 1975 | Filmworks is founded |
| 1976 | Filmworks becomes Casablanca Record & Filmworks |
| 1980 | PolyGram renames Casablanca Record & Filmworks to PolyGram Pictures MCA Videocassette‚ Inc. (laterUniversal Pictures Home Entertainment) is established |
| 1983 | PolyGram Pictures closes |
| 1984 | Walter Lantz Productions' assets are sold to Universal Telemundo is founded |
| 1986 | General Electric re-purchases its former subsidiaryRCA for $6.4 billion, including NBC and a stake inA&E |
| 1987 | PolyGram Movies is founded |
| 1989 | NBC relaunchesTempo Television asCNBC |
| 1990 | Universal Studios Florida opens PolyGram Movies is renamedPolyGram Filmed Entertainment Sky Television andBritish Satellite Broadcasting merge to form British Sky Broadcasting Universal Cartoon Studios (laterUniversal Animation Studios) is established |
| 1994 | DreamWorks Pictures andDreamWorks Animation are founded |
| 1995 | Seagram acquires Universal through its acquisition of MCA NBC andMicrosoft replaceAmerica's Talking withMSNBC |
| 1998 | Seagram acquires PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Barry Diller purchases Universal's domestic television assets Universal Television is renamed Studios USA Television |
| 1999 | PolyGram Filmed Entertainment is folded into Universal Pictures PolyGram Video is renamed USA Home Entertainment Universal Studios Florida expands to becomeUniversal Orlando Resort |
| 2000 | Seagram is sold toVivendi and merged withStudioCanal to become Vivendi Universal Entertainment |
| 2001 | Grand opening ofUniversal Studios Japan Vivendi purchases Studios USA |
| 2002 | NBC acquiresTelemundo andBravo Studios USA assets are folded into Universal Focus Features is formed Comcast acquiresAT&T Broadband for $44.5 billion |
| 2004 | GE and Vivendi merge NBC and Universal intoNBCUniversal |
| 2005 | Comcast sets up a joint-venture withPBS,Sesame Workshop &HIT Entertainment to form PBS Kids Sprout Comcast &Time Warner Cable jointly acquireAdelphia Cable assets for $17.6 billion |
| 2007 | Illumination is founded |
| 2011 | Vivendi divests interest in NBCU; Comcast buys 51% of NBCU from GE, turning it into a limited liability company NBCUniversal Archives is founded |
| 2012 | NBCUniversal divests itsA&E Networks minority stake |
| 2013 | Comcast buys GE's remaining 49% of NBCU Comcast/NBCU assumes full ownership of Sprout |
| 2015 | Amblin Partners is founded |
| 2016 | NBCU acquiresDreamWorks Animation |
| 2017 | NBCU acquires a minority stake inAmblin Partners Sprout relaunches asUniversal Kids |
| 2018 | Comcast acquires Sky from21st Century Fox |
| 2020 | NBCU launchesPeacock |
| 2025 | NBCUniversal announces the closure of Universal Kids |
| 2026 | Versant spins off fromNBCUniversal |
IAC was established in 1986 asSilver King Broadcasting Company, as part of a plan to increase viewership of theHome Shopping Network (HSN) by purchasing local television stations.[8][9] By 1988, Silver King had bought 11 stations for about $220 million.[9] The company was later renamed asHSN Communications, Inc., and thenSilver King Communications, Inc.[8] In 1992, Silver King wasspun off to HSN shareholders as a separately traded public company with theNasdaq stock ticker SKCI.[10] In August 1995,Barry Diller acquired control of Silver King, in a deal backed by the company's largest shareholder,Liberty Media.[11][12] Diller, who had led the creation of theFox network, reportedly hoped to use Silver King's stations as the foundation for a new broadcast network.[12]
The company acquired several assets in the late 1990s. In December 1996, Silver King acquired an 80% stake in HSN for $1.3 billion in stock, and changed its own name toHSN, Inc.[13][14][15] At the same time, the company acquiredSavoy Pictures, a failed film studio that owned four Fox affiliate stations throughSF Broadcasting, for $210 million in stock.[16]
HSN purchased a controlling stake inTicketmaster Group in July 1997,[17] and then acquired the rest of the company in June 1998.[18][19] In February 1998, it acquired the television assets ofUniversal Studios (includingUSA Network,Sci-Fi Channel, andUniversal Television's domestic production and distribution arms) for $4.1 billion.[20][21] The company's name was changed toUSA Networks, Inc. at this point.[21] Continuing its acquisition strategy, the company acquired theHotel Reservations Network in May 1999 for $149 million.[22][23]
USA Networks merged the online division of Ticketmaster with city guide websiteCitysearch in September 1998, establishing a new company that went public as Ticketmaster Online–CitySearch (TMCS).[24][25] USA then sold Ticketmaster proper to TMCS in 2001, retaining a 61 percent share in the combined company, which became known as simply Ticketmaster.[26][27] USA brought Ticketmaster back under full ownership in 2003, purchasing all outstanding shares.[28]
In the early 2000s, USA Networks began divesting itself of its traditional television broadcasting and production units. In May 2001,Univision Communications acquiredUSA Broadcasting (a division of USA Networks including 13 local stations).[29] The next year,Vivendi bought the rest of USA's broadcast entertainment businesses, including the USA Network and Sci-Fi Channel.[30] This led to the creation of a new company named Vivendi Universal Entertainment, led by Diller.[31] Throughout this transition, USA Networks continued to build up its online portfolio. In July 2001, the company entered the online travel business with its acquisition ofExpedia,[32] followed the next year by an acquisition ofInterval International.[33]
Following the shift in focus to online assets, the company changed its name toUSA Interactive (USAI)[34] in May 2002;[35]InterActiveCorp in June 2003;[36] and finally to IAC/InterActiveCorp in July 2004.[37]
In August 2003, IAC acquired the online mortgage comparison siteLendingTree,[38] and in September, the company added discount travel websiteHotwire.com to its growing list of acquisitions.[39] In October, IAC agreed to buy French travel site Anyway.com fromTransat A.T. for $62.7 million.[40]
In 2004 and 2005, IAC continued its growth through acquisition, adding assets includingTripadvisor,[41]ServiceMagic,[42] andAsk Jeeves.[43] It also launched Gifts.com during this period.[44] In August 2005, the company bundled together its travel-related sites and spun them off as a new public company,Expedia, Inc.[45] Additional acquisitions in 2006 includedShoeBuy.com,[46] which the company later sold toJet,[47] and Connected Ventures includingCollegeHumor andVimeo.[48]
In May 2008, IAC and Ask.com acquiredLexico, the owner ofDictionary.com, Thesaurus.com, andReference.com.[49] In August 2008, IAC spun off several of its businesses, including: Tree.com (formerly LendingTree), the Home Shopping Network, Ticketmaster, and Interval International.[50]
In 2009, IAC acquiredUrbanspoon[51] and People Media,[52] and launched the production company Notional.[53] IAC would later sell Urbanspoon toZomato in 2015.[54]
IAC's largest shareholder, Liberty Media, exited the company in 2010, following a protracted dispute over the 2008 spinoffs.[55][56] Liberty traded its IAC stock for $220 million in cash, plus ownership ofEvite and Gifts.com.[55] On the same day, Diller stepped down as CEO but remained chairman, andMatch.com CEO Greg Blatt was appointed to succeed him.[55] That same year, IAC acquired dating site Singlesnet[57] and fitness siteDailyBurn.[58]
In January 2013, IAC acquired online tutoring firmTutor.com.[59] On August 3, 2013, IAC soldNewsweek to theInternational Business Times on undisclosed terms.[60] On December 22, 2013, IAC fired their director of corporate communications,Justine Sacco, after an AIDS joke she posted to Twitterwent viral,[61] being re-tweeted and scorned around the world.[62] The incident became abyword for the need for people to be cautious about what they post on social media.[63]
In 2014, IAC acquiredASKfm for an undisclosed sum.[64]
In November 2015, IAC andMatch Group announced the closing of Match Group's previously announced initial public offering.[65]
In May 2017,HomeAdvisor combined withAngie's List, forming the new publicly traded companyANGI Homeservices Inc. The company made its stock market debut in October 2017. In October 2018, ANGI made its first acquisition ofon-demand platformHandy.[66]
In January 2019, IAC sold Citysearch parent CityGrid to eLocal.[67] In July 2019, IAC made its largest investment ever in the world's largest peer-to-peer car sharing marketplace,Turo. Later that year, IAC acquiredCare.com.[68] In December 2019, IAC and Match Group entered into an agreement providing for the full separation of Match Group from the remaining businesses of IAC.[69]
In January 2020, IAC withdrew its financial backing for CollegeHumor and its sister websites and sold the websites to Chief Creative OfficerSam Reich; IAC remains a minority owner of Reich's rebranded companyDropout. As a result of the restructuring, more than 100 employees of CollegeHumor were laid off.[70] In February, IAC completed its $500 million acquisition of Care.com.[71]
In July 2020, IAC and Match Group announced the successful completion of the separation of Match Group from the remaining businesses of IAC. As a result of the separation, Match Group's dual class voting structure was eliminated and the interest in Match Group formerly held by IAC is now held directly by IAC's shareholders. As of the separation, "new" IAC trades under the symbol "IAC" and "new" Match Group under the symbol "MTCH", both onNasdaq.[72]
In August 2020, IAC announced[73] it had invested a 12% stake inMGM Resorts International.
In May 2021, IAC completed the spin-off of Vimeo, the 11th company to be spun-off from IAC.[74] Vimeo trades onNasdaq under the symbol "VMEO".
In October 2021, IAC announced the acquisition ofMeredith Corporation's National Media Group for $2.7 billion. The deal closed December 1, 2021,[75] and the acquired Meredith (and the formerTime Inc.) assets merged with IAC subsidiary Dotdash, forming a new entity calledDotdash Meredith.[76]
In August 2022, IAC officially changed its legal entity (IAC/InterActiveCorp) to reflect what it is actually called: IAC Inc. In October, IAC agreed to sell its workforce-as-a-service platform Bluecrew to EmployBridge[77] with IAC remaining a minority shareholder in Bluecrew's business.
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IAC's businesses are categorized into distinct segments for the purposes of financial reporting. Those segments are labelled by the company as People Inc., Care.com, Search, and Emerging & Other. Each business listed may have multiple brands connected to it.
People Inc., at the time known as About.com, was acquired by IAC in 2012. A few years later they renamed it Dotdash. In 2021,Meredith Corporation andTime Inc. merged into Dotdash, and it took the name Dotdash Meredith, before rebranding to its current name in 2025. It operates 40 brands, with 19 considered core properties. Time had previously merged with Warner Communications to formTime Warner in 1990. The company spun off Time in 2014, but kept the Time Warner name until it was renamed WarnerMedia after being acquired byAT&T in 2018.
IAC's board of directors consists of the following members:[7]
Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just kidding. I'm white!
