ReachLocal Gets Into Daily Deals Market

Online marketer ReachLocal has acquired daily deals site DealOn.com in a transaction worth $10 million. The Woodland Hill-based firm’s announcement came with the release of its fourth quarter earnings showing a widening of its net loss when compared to a year ago. With the rapid growth of daily deal websites they will become an important way for publishers to monetize local users online, said ReachLocal co-founder and CEO Zorik Gordon. DealOn was founded in 2009 and operates in 18 markets across the U.S. The acquisition follows a pattern started last year by ReachLocal to diversify its offerings, which include digital presence product ReachCast, and Bizzy, a personalized local recommendation engine. ReachLocal ended its fiscal year with a net loss of $3.6 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, on revenues of $80.6 million. For the fourth quarter in 2009, the company had a net loss of $1.6 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, on revenues of $59.8 million. For the full fiscal year ReachLocal reported a net loss of $11.1 million, or $0.42 per diluted share, on revenues of $291.7 million. For the previous fiscal year, the company had net income of $10 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, on revenues of $203.1 million. The company’s forecast for the first quarter of 2011 is to finish with revenues in the range of $83 to $85 million. Mark R. Madler