It’s been a banner few weeks for deal making for companies honored as Models of Excellence by InfoCommerce Group.
In the mega-deal category, we have 2006 honoree real estate data powerhouse Zillow, entering into a $3.5 billion deal to acquire arch-rival Trulia. This will of course put pressure on market leader Home.com, which operates the Realtor.com website. The whole real estate vertical has been one to watch from a data perspective. Zillow was not only an early innovator in the area of map-based user interfaces, it also blew more than a few minds by not only aggregating property data on almost every home in the country, but creating a home price estimate for every home as well. If this merger goes through, expect even more extreme innovation as these two giants battle it out for audience and advertising.
In the smaller (but hardly small) category, we have the $175 million acquisition of 2009 Model of Excellence honoree Bizo by 2004 Model of Excellence honoree LinkedIn. From a strategic standpoint, I’d rate this acquisition as nothing short of brilliant. At a high level, you are putting together “who” (the LinkedIn database, with “where,” (the Bizo B2B ad network). The potential opportunities are endless.
And while we’re in the world of high finance, a shout-out to 2010 Model of Excellence honoree SmartZip also seem in order, as they’ve just closed on a new $12 million financing round.
Where do these and other Models of Excellence companies meet each year to get their deals on? InfoCommerce Group’s DataContent gathering, now part of an even bigger show, the Business Information & Media Summit. See you in Miami!