WebProNews

I can't leave the country for 2 minutes! ZDNet is reporting that IAC will today announce the acquisition of Ask Jeeves in a deal worth $1.9 billion.

IAC/InterActive owns a variety of internet businesses. Its principle holdings are Expedia, Ticketmaster, Home Shopping Network, Match.com and CitySearch.

IAC/InterActive is expected to acquire Ask Jeeves in a stock transaction, exchanging shares in IAC/InterActive for shares in Ask Jeeves then buying 60 percent of the just-issued IAC/InterActive shares back for about $1.2 billion.

Wow, that's pretty big shake-up in the industry and also huge validation for not only Ask Jeeves but the entire search engine space. IAC can now pair-up its local search business, CitySearch, with the global search engine reach offered by Ask. Jeeves also stands to benefit from the technology IAC has at its other divisions.

Andy Beal is an internet marketing consultant and considered one of the world's most respected and interactive search engine marketing experts. Andy has worked with many Fortune 1000 companies such as Motorola, CitiFinancial, Lowes, Alaska Air, DeWALT, NBC and Experian.

You can read his internet marketing blog at Marketing Pilgrim and reach him at andy.beal@gmail.com.