NexTag sells stake for $830M, after facing death in 2000

Private equity firm Providence Equity Partners has acquired a two-thirds stake in comparison-shopping site NexTag Inc. for about $830 million, according to the WSJ’s Kevin Delaney.

The deal values the San Mateo, Calif. Nextag at about $1.2 billion, and represents an amazingly lucrative deal for NexTag,… Continue Reading

Roundup: Nextag, ThisNext, Amp’d, Lala, Ask3D and much more

Roundup: Nextag, ThisNext, Amp’d, Lala, Ask3D and much more

(Updated) Here’s the latest action, catching up for the past two days:

Boring shopping Web sites attract interest — There are so many shopping search engines, we’ve given up trying to count. And yet investors remain interested. Santa Monica, Calif.’s ThisNext, a social shopping Web site, has… Continue Reading

The courtesan sisters of comparison search, and Thefind

The courtesan sisters of comparison search, and Thefind

Updated

If you’re searching to buy a product online, there’s no single “branded” engine that stands out — and for a reason. All of the major shopping engines sites have sold out to advertisers.

This may represent a grand opportunity: If a Google-like search engine emerges… Continue Reading

Wize.com, the search engine that ranks products

Wize.com, the search engine that ranks products

Wize.com, a San Mateo start-up, has launched yet another search engine for consumer electronics and other goods.

Wize’s promise hangs on a single, skinny thread: Its “Wize Rank” concept. Wize Rank is a numeric ranking of products (from zero to 100). Each product is rated according… Continue Reading