TNS, a world leader in market information and insight, announced that it has agreed to acquire Compete.com for a total of US$150 million. An initial cash payment of US$75 million will be made upon closing and the remainder will be payable upon performance targets being met over several years.
Compete.com provides online traffic metrics about web sites very much like Alexa.com, comScore and Hitwise - which was acquired last year by Experian for US$240 million.
Compete conducts continuous analysis of internet clickstream data from close to 2 million people received from its own panel and from internet service providers. They uses proprietary data methodologies to normalise this data, making it representative of the entire US online market place. This information is used to measure how consumers consider, engage with and buy a client’s products or services online, relative to those of its competition. This ability to analyse online behaviour before a purchase is made enables Compete to advise clients on how to target online communications to individual consumers, to influence both their online and offline purchasing behaviour. It specialises in the telecoms, media, automotive, travel, financial services and online search.
As internet usage and e-retailing increases, clickstream data is expected to become a significant information source around which market research and analysis is based. Recent estimates suggest that the US market in which Compete operates will grow from $325 million in 2007 to $500 million in 2009.
Compete.com won the award for the "Best Content Search Engine" at Searchnomics 2007.
Google's Marissa Mayer, VP, Search Products & User Experience, officially announced yesterday at the Searchnomics 2007 Conference the launch of Google Gadget Ventures. Members of the press including ABC7 News were on hand to get the breaking news scoop. Marissa introduced the program during her closing Keynote address. If you are familiar with the personalized Google homepage, iGoogle, where users can add widgets/gadgets created by others or better yet create your own personalized gadgets, then this program is a spinoff of this. If your Google gadget generates a quarter of a million page views weekly, you are eligible for a $5K grant to build it out further and once you have received the grant you can then apply for an additional $100K seed capital to build a business around the Google gadgets platform. A program such as this facilitates among other things innovation and from a business perspective, even more reasons to stay on the Google site. For more information, see the Official Google Blog post on this program. (See as well my previous blog post on iGoogle.)
Semel maybe out but so are 10 of Yahoo's 26 executives (see then and now). A 40% turnover in executive management in one year is pretty high. I guess the battle against Google is taking its toll. Semel, who didn't know what email was before he arrived at Yahoo has left behind a trail of destruction. The vacancies are being filled by Susan Deckers' friends according to sources. Susan, who takes over as President of Yahoo, is famous for saying that "Yahoo's goal is not to be number one in search". Besides losing all this "talent" in a short time, the company is losing millions in severance compensation. Several employees said that Farzeed Nazem, CTO, spent more time filing papers with the SEC over stock options purchases and sales during his 11 year hibernation. The WSJ says it reinforces doubts about Panama when the guy overseeing the global rollout leaves smack in the middle of it. A senior Yahooligan (Yahoo employee) described Panama as larger than the Titanic and that it will help Yahoo capture more search advertising dollars.
Here is the list of executives jumping ship: Terry Semel, CEO Susan Decker, CFO Lars Rabbe, CIO Dan Rosensweig, COO Farzeed Nazem, CTO Chris Castro, CCO Lloyd Braun, President, Yahoo! Media John Marcom, VP International, Yahoo! Phu Hoang, VP Engineering Daniel Finnigan, VP Classifieds
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TNS, a world leader in market information and insight, announced that it has agreed to acquire Compete.com for a total of US$150 million. An initial cash payment of US$75 million will be made upon closing and the remainder will be payable upon performance targets being met over several years.
Compete conducts continuous analysis of internet clickstream data from close to 2 million people received from its own panel and from internet service providers. They uses proprietary data methodologies to normalise this data, making it representative of the entire US online market place. This information is used to measure how consumers consider, engage with and buy a client’s products or services online, relative to those of its competition. This ability to analyse online behaviour before a purchase is made enables Compete to advise clients on how to target online communications to individual consumers, to influence both their online and offline purchasing behaviour. It specialises in the telecoms, media, automotive, travel, financial services and online search.
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Those who missed Marissa Mayer's Keynote at SES can listen to her Keynote at Searchnomics which is identical to the one she did with Danny Sullivan. 
Here is the list of executives jumping ship:
