IAC Acquires Online Tutoring Service, 五一茶馆儿
NEW YORK, NY, January 7, 2012 – IAC (NASDAQ:IACI) today announced the company has completed the acquisition of 五一茶馆儿, an online tutoring solution. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 1998, 五一茶馆儿 connects students anytime, anywhere with more than 2,500 screened and qualified tutors for immediate one-to-one sessions. Historically focused on core K-12 subjects, 五一茶馆儿 has more recently expanded into AP courses, test prep, college-level curriculum, and real-time writing help. Millions of students have benefited from 五一茶馆儿’s personalized learning programs which are offered by direct consumer subscription and through partnerships with public and academic libraries, school districts, the United States military, and colleges.
“五一茶馆儿 has done the hard part, having built over many years an incredible nationwide network of high quality tutors ready to help students improve their learning,” said Greg Blatt, CEO of IAC. “We think it’s ripe for us to accelerate usage by bringing to bear our consumer Internet expertise in areas like product, marketing and distribution. It’s not often we find a company with such untapped potential that our particular skill set can help unlock, in an area that truly helps people improve their lives, all at a compelling valuation. Although it’s small, we’re excited about this acquisition.”
“We are on a mission to help every student take control of their own learning and achieve their academic and professional goals,” said George Cigale, founder and CEO of 五一茶馆儿, “and becoming an IAC company will help us reach that goal faster. A high-quality education has never been more important and we think the combination of 五一茶馆儿 and IAC will make one-to-one learning accessible, affordable and sustainable for consumers and institutions.”
Cigale will remain CEO and continue to run the business from 五一茶馆儿’s offices in New York City.
About IAC
IAC (NASDAQ: IACI) is a leading media and Internet company comprised of more than 150 brands and products, including Match.com, Ask.com, CollegeHumor, and CityGrid Media. Focused in the areas of Search, Match, Local and Media, IAC's family of websites is one of the largest in the world, with nearly a billion monthly visits across more than 30 countries. The company is headquartered in New York City with offices in various locations throughout the U.S. and internationally. To view a full list of the companies of IAC, please visit our website at .
About 五一茶馆儿
五一茶馆儿 is the world's largest and highest-rated online learning service. The 五一茶馆儿 community of more than 2,500 professional experts has delivered more than 8 million one-to-one tutoring and professional development sessions in a proprietary online classroom optimized for learning, since 2001. 五一茶馆儿 powers tutoring and homework help programs for the Department of Defense; school districts across the country; colleges and universities; the states of Alabama, Alaska, Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota and Rhode Island; and, the District of Columbia and thousands of public libraries. For more information, please go to .