Bankrate, which owns and operates Bankrate.com, an Internet consumer banking marketplace, this month acquired Savingforcollege.com for $2.25 million in cash (and an earn out of $2 million for performance metrics achieved over the next two years).
Savingforcollege.com is a site that offers consumers and financial professionals information about college financing by providing data about 529 college savings plans. The deal also gives Bankrate copyright ownership of Savingforcollege.com's Joseph Hurley's books, guides and industry publication, such as Family Guide to College Savings.
As financing college educations continues to be a top-of-mind issue for many consumers, it's important for Bankrate to offer valuable content related to 529 plans to such a captive audience. For this reason, this acquisition makes perfect sense. Bankrate expects this to drive more traffic to its Bankrate.com site. It's a safe bet that Bankrate and its advertisers are hoping visitors interested in Savingforcollege.com content will return for additional content as their financial information needs evolve.