Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of IAC/InterActiveCorp (IAC) rose 14% Thursday after the Internet media specialist announced it is reorganizing to create a new Match Group business helmed by current IAC CEO Greg Blatt.
So what: Initially, Match Group will consist of IAC's Match businesses, Tutor.com, DailyBurn, and IAC's investment in Skyllzone. Blatt, for his part, will step down as IAC CEO to become chairman of Match Group, and will continue reporting directly to IAC chairman and senior executive Barry Diller.
Meanwhile, Match CEO Sam Yagan will become CEO of the new Match Group, where he'll report to Blatt and focus on the dating businesses, best practices across the new venture, and "expanding the Match Group beyond its current verticals."
Now what: Remember, IAC is currently comprised of more than 150 brands, with some of the remaining notable brands including Ask.com, About.com, HomeAdvisor, and Vimeo. As it stands, I think investors are right to applaud the value-optimizing move given IAC's wide-reaching empire, especially considering its resulting decentralized management structure could potentially lead to a spinoff down the road.
Despite its sluggish 6% year-over-year top-line growth last quarter, IAC did manage to more than double net income over the same period. This, in turn, has propelled its stock near all-time highs. But with shares currently sitting around 24 times last year's earnings -- and apart from creating value by breaking up its many businesses -- I just can't seem to get excited about IAC's prospects as a compelling long-term investment. For now, I think investors have plenty of better options to put their money to work.
