Google said it has purchased price comparison engine BeatThatQuote.com for $61.2 million, the latest in a number of acquisitions the company plans to make in 2011.
Google March 7 said it has purchased BeatThatQuote.com, an online price
comparison Website based in the United Kingdom,
for $61.2 million.
The buy, which comes amid reports that Google is ramping up for large and
small acquisitions this year, will give Google access to technology that helps
consumers search for lower rates on services for personal finance, insurance,
legal services and other markets.
BeatThatQuote.com helps users search for anything from personal loans to
credit cards, insurance for cars and homes, and consumer products; compare them
to rival products; and purchase them from the service or product provider
online.
"We have acquired BeatThatQuote.com and are excited about working with
their team," a Google spokesperson told eWEEK. "With their expertise
and our technology, we will be able to provide new and innovative ways for
consumers to find the right financial products and save money."
BeatThatQuote.com Managing Director John Paleomylites wrote in a note on the
company's
homepage that his company with Google's support and
scale be able to create new personal finance options in the U.K.
"We look forward to working with their engineers to create new tools
making it easier for consumers to choose the right financial products,"
said Paleomylites. "We think we can offer more transparency and better
pricing information than existing online offerings."
He also said the company will continue to work with its current partners.
Google will likely integrate BeatThatQuote.com's price comparison engine
into its own Google.com search portal, providing consumers with ways to search
for the best-priced financial services.
This isn't the first time Google has offered price comparisons for financial
services. The company in 2009 began
offering comparison ads for homes, credit cards, mortgages and
other personal finance areas.
In BeatThatQuote.com, Google has acquired the breed of vertical search
engine that has complained to the European Commission that Google pushes down
its results in search pages in favor of its own.
Foundem, Microsoft's Ciao and eJustice.fr all filed complaints with the
commission, which is
scrutinizing Google's search and ad practices overseas. Texas
State Attorney General Greg Abbott is investigating similar claims in the United
States.
Google has also tried hard to
buy ITA Software to create its own fight comparison engine. The Department
of Justice, spurred by Expedia and others in the travel search sector, is
investigating whether or not the purchase would be anti-competitive.
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