IAC (Match.com) Probably not Buying Yahoo Personals

During a conference call about the IAC/InterActive Q1 2009 Earnings report, the owner of Match.com and CEO of IAC, Barry Diller, mentioned they had been talking to Yahoo about the possibility of purchasing their dating site, Yahoo! Personals (see Story).

With this latest news article from Bloomberg it looks like Mr. Diller is not planning to make any new purchases anytime soon.

Diller said in an interview yesterday that he has no plans to make any major acquisitions ... Diller said he would rather invest in IAC’s businesses than acquire large media companies, which he sees as overvalued.

Diller also mentioned at the Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Communacopia conference in New York, that IAC has too much cash at the moment but he doesn't see a better return than investing in their own businesses. At the beginning of July 2009, IAC had $1.61 billion in cash and $95.8 million in long-term debt. The New York based company had also repurchased $300 million in stock since August 2008. Since the beginning of this year IAC stock has risen 31 percent to close above $20.

In my opinion these statements by Diller while not mentioning Yahoo Personals directly, makes it clear he has no plans to buy the dating site. By purchasing Yahoo Personals he would be investing in the dating industry, but not directly into one of his existing businesses which is what Barry Diller says he plans to do.

For more information on the dating sites mentioned, read our Match.com review and our Yahoo Personals review.