Altavista Co

Overture Services Inc. announced a surprise deal Tuesday to acquire the pioneering Internet search firm AltaVista Co. for $140 million -- a fraction of the $2.3 billion the company fetched in 1999 at the height of the dot-com boom. Pasadena-based Overture allows companies to buy favored placement in Internet search results, and it plans to incorporate AltaVista's patented search technology into its products, Chief Executive Ted Meisel said.

Internet search pioneer AltaVista Co. on Tuesday announced another shake up in its struggle to survive--trimming its rapidly dwindling work force about 30%, shuttering an office in Irvine and hiring a new chief executive.

Web search engine AltaVista will add an online newsstand to its main index today to make its results more topical and useful to surfers looking for up-to-the-minute information.

AltaVista Co., a unit of CMGI Inc., said it cut 200 jobs, or about a third of its work force of about 600, to reduce expenses at the Internet search service after advertising revenue growth slowed.

AltaVista Co., a unit of CMGI Inc., said it will cut 225 jobs, or about a quarter of its work force, as the Internet search service seeks to become profitable before selling shares to the public.