Bertelsmann, eyeing online growth, buys DealPilot site
50.1% of shopping search engine taken over by media giant
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Bertelsmann now controls 50.1% of the young firm, which helps shoppers find the best deals on the market. Established in 1997 by two students, the Heidelberg-based DealPilot.com compares prices for online shopping of books, music and videos. It currently lists offers from about 60 online shopping centers from the U.S., Germany, the U.K., France, Italy and Spain The site boasts about 150,000 users a month. The company generates more than three-quarters of its revenues in the U.S., though it plans to expand internationally.
"We want to take over these kinds of businesses," said Bernd Schiphorst, chief exec of Bertelsmann's new-media division. "That is our message today." Bertelsmann did not say how much it paid for the stake.
In addition to its traditional publishing and music businesses, Bertelsmann has been actively seeking to establish itself in the fast-growing Internet industry. The company was recently named Germany's most renowned by Fortune magazine, beating out Teutonic titans like Daimler-Chrysler, Bayer and Lufthansa.
