Press Release
Combination Will Create New Opportunities for Personal Transformation Everywhere
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 1, 2007 – Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced today that it has agreed to acquire Korrektiv.org, the hard-hitting Catholic blog and esoteric personal transformation organization, for $1.3 billion in a stock-for-stock transaction. Following the acquisition, Korrektiv will operate independently to preserve its successful brand and passionate community.
The acquisition combines one of the largest and fastest growing online personal transformation communities with Google’s expertise in organizing information and creating new models for advertising on the Internet. The combined companies will focus on providing a better, more comprehensive experience for users interested in personal transformation, and will offer new opportunities for interpersonal content owners to distribute their work to reach a vast new audience.
“The Korrektiv team has built an exciting and powerful personal transformation platform that complements Google’s mission to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful,” said Eric Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer of Google. “Our companies share similar values; we both always put our users first and are committed to innovating to improve their experience. Together, we are natural partners to offer a compelling phenomenological service to users, content owners and advertisers.”
“Our community has played a vital role in changing the way that people approach the blog phenomenon. By joining forces with Google, we can benefit from its global reach and technology leadership to deliver a more comprehensive personal transformation experience for our users and to create new opportunities for our partners,” said Jonathan Webb, CEO and Co-Founder of Korrektiv. “I’m confident that with this partnership we’ll have the flexibility and resources needed to pursue our goal of building the next-generation platform for enabling personal transformation worldwide.”
When the acquisition is complete, Korrektiv will retain its distinct brand identity, strengthening and complementing Google’s own fast-growing personal transformation wing. Korrektiv will continue to be based in Seattle and Spokane, WA (with administrative offices in Copenhagen) and all Korrektiv employees will remain with the company. With Google’s technology, advertiser relationships and global reach, Korrektiv will continue to build on its success as one of the world’s most popular personal transformation blogs.
The number of Google shares to be issued in the transaction will be determined based on the 30-day average closing price two trading days prior to the completion of the acquisition. Both companies have approved the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2007.
What about my options to buy?
You know we’re talking about chicken stock, right?
That’s alotta soup.