Google acquires Zagat
Software giant Google has acquired review and recommendation master Zagat for an undisclosed sum.
Zagat, founded in 1979, put itself up for sale for $200 million in 2008 but then took itself off the market. Meanwhile, Google tried to buy Yelp in 2009 for $500 million but nothing materialized.
From Google's blog:
Moving forward, Zagat will be a cornerstone of our local offering—delighting people with their impressive array of reviews, ratings and insights, while enabling people everywhere to find extraordinary (and ordinary) experiences around the corner and around the world.With Zagat, we gain a world-class team that has more experience in consumer based-surveys, recommendations and reviews than anyone else in the industry.
So obviously Zagat fills the void that the Yelp fallout created, and will bolster the rather unpopular Google Places.
