Getprice.com.au the Australian online price comparison/shopping site co-founded by Jared Oken in 2005 has been bought by News Digital Media for an undisclosed sum.
News Digital Media’s chief executive Richard Freudenstein, announced the acquisition this morning, with Getprice founder Jared Oken and CEO Chris Hitchen staying with the company once the integration is complete.
Getprice is a price comparison and aggregation engine, that allows consumers to compare prices across retailers nationwide. With some 2 million products from 1,000 retailers iincluding Apple, Dell, Dick Smith Electronics, Bing Lee, Clive Peeters, Ted’s Cameras, ABC Store, Big W, Rebel Sport, Officeworks, Surf Dive ‘n’ Ski, Supercheap Auto and Flight Centre.
Getprice’s chief executive officer, Chris Hitchen, will report to News Digital Media’s executive director of emerging business, Michael Solomon in the merged business.
Mr Freudenstein said that the acquisition was part of News Digital Media’s strategy to build a portfolio of businesses with diverse revenue streams and had been timed to coincide with the explosion in online retailing.
“Under Chris’ strong leadership Getprice has undergone enormous growth and is undoubtedly the pre-eminent site of its kind. By taking full ownership we will be able to further leverage our digital and print assets to aggressively drive traffic and revenue.
“Over the next four years the Australian online retailing market is predicted to grow by 50 per cent to $18 billion. With 57 per cent of online shoppers now visiting a comparison website before making a purchase decision, we see a very successful and highly profitable future for Getprice.”
Mr Hitchen said that he and the Getprice team were excited to be joining News Digital Media and benefitting from being part of Australia’s largest media company.
“Over the coming months we will be making significant changes to the Getprice website, evolving our mobile shopping proposition, launching a consumer marketing campaign and integrating with other News assets, both digital and print.”
Mr Hitchen added “On behalf of everyone at Getprice I would like to thank our shareholders who have been so supportive of the company over the past five years.”
News Digital Media initially acquired a significant minority share in the company in October 2007 before increasing its investment to 52.5 per cent in July 2009.
