IAC acquires Ask Jeeves

This is an acquisition I have to ponder.

IAC Buys AskJeeves

... for $1.8 billion.

$1.8 billion?

"According to Dan Hess, Senior VP of comScore Networks, 'The combination creates intriguing growth opportunities, given that there is relatively little overlap between the IAC and Ask Jeeves audiences. Having said that, it's no secret that there's fierce competition in search, and most major players are working to further extend their own brands into industries that have been IAC strongholds'."

I've never been a huge AskJeeves fan. The search engine seemed more like the Reader's Digest Condensed version of a search engine ... on training wheels.

Recently, I've been reading some "oh, they're great ... they've improved ... you really should check them out" reports on various search engine resource Web sites. So, I did.

Same reaction as before. Huh? What is Ask Jeeves offering someone out there searching that can't be better found elsewhere?

Well, whatever it is AskJeeves is or is not providing, InterActiveCorp, which is not known for its corporate stupids, thinks AskJeeves is worth $1.8 billion.

$1.8 billion.

I still don't get it.