Iac

IAC/InterActiveCorp, the Internet conglomerate run by Barry Diller, said Monday that it would break itself into five publicly traded businesses -- an indication that the media mogul's plan to build a multimedia empire has failed. The announcement drove IAC's shares up more than 7%, as Diller explained the split would mean the independent businesses would answer more directly to shareholders rather than being shielded by IAC.

Motorcycles and sailboats helped Frank Gehry finally get a building here. The cycles came into play when veteran chief executive Barry Diller, now head of IAC/InterActiveCorp, joined an outing of the celebrity Guggenheim Motorcycle Club in Bilbao, Spain, the home, of course, to one of Gehry's best-known structures, the Guggenheim Museum.

Barry Diller's media conglomerate, IAC/InterActiveCorp, which includes Home Shopping Network, Ticketmaster and CitySearch, said Tuesday that hefty charges had pushed down profit by 85% in the fourth quarter but revenue rose in each of its divisions. Net income after paying preferred dividends dropped to $16.7 million, or 5 cents a share, in the three months that ended Dec. 31 from $113.1 million, or 33 cents, a year earlier.

Forget the butler. Ask.com is playing concierge. The search engine, previously known as Ask Jeeves, today is launching a service to connect Web surfers with local business listings, movie times, events and digital maps. What separates AskCity from rival local search engines, analysts say, is the depth of information it's able to draw on from its corporate parent, IAC/InterActiveCorp.

IAC/InterActiveCorp, the Internet conglomerate run by Barry Diller, said third-quarter profit rose, helped by higher operating income from its retail segment and strong revenue growth from its Ticketmaster business. Growth in online search and dating services also helped boost results past analyst expectations, offsetting a weak performance at its key Home Shopping Network and declines at mortgage business LendingTree.com. Shares of the company rose $1.16, or 3.9%, to $30.98.

IAC/InterActiveCorp, the Internet and media company run by Barry Diller, said Tuesday that first-quarter profit fell 32% because of a sales decline at cable shopping network HSN and the spinoff of Expedia Inc. Net income at the owner of LendingTree.com and Ticketmaster fell to $47.2 million, or 14 cents a share, from $68.9 million, or 19 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 36% to $1.55 billion with the purchase of Cornerstone Brands Inc. and Ask.com, New York-based IAC said.

IAC/InterActiveCorp., an Internet and media company run by Barry Diller, added features to the Ask Jeeves search engine and renamed it Ask.com, retiring Jeeves the butler from the website. Ask.com offers shortcuts to more than 20 search tools such as maps and a dictionary, New York-based IAC said. It also has a Web-based desktop-search function that allows users to access files and e-mails on their computers through a browser. A cartoon Jeeves appeared on the home page of the old site.

Internet conglomerate IAC/InterActiveCorp swung to a profit in the fourth quarter as acquisitions and strong growth at Ticketmaster and LendingTree boosted results. IAC, which also owns the HSN home-shopping network, Citysearch and recently acquired Ask Jeeves, said its online services group drove the quarter's growth with a 46% gain in revenue during the quarter. IAC earned $113.1 million, or 33 cents a share, improving from the 2004 quarter's loss of $45.9 million, or 13 cents.

IAC/InterActiveCorp, the television and Internet services company owned by Barry Diller, plans to enter the real estate brokerage business next year to expand beyond offering property and mortgage listings on websites. The New York-based company's RealEstate.com business will open brokerage offices in the Pacific Northwest in the first half of 2006, RealEstate.com spokeswoman Mindy Duquette said.

IAC/InterActiveCorp, the television and Internet services company owned by Barry Diller, said second-quarter profit rose almost ninefold on the sale of entertainment assets and revenue gains at the LendingTree.com mortgage unit and HSN home-shopping network. Net income jumped to $618.1 million, or 89 cents a share, from $69.9 million, or 9 cents, a year earlier. Sales topped analysts' estimates, climbing 34% to $1.96 billion, New York-based IAC said.