IAC Considers Spin-Off of Angi

By Harshita Mary Varghese

(Reuters) – IAC is exploring the possibility of spinning off its majority stake in home services unit, Angi, after surpassing third-quarter revenue expectations due to strong ad demand for its primary business, Dotdash Meredith (NYSE:MDP).

IAC holds an 85% stake in Angi, which has a market value of approximately $1.25 billion. Angi operates a digital platform connecting home service professionals with consumers for tasks such as repair work and home remodeling.

In 2017, IAC acquired 'Angie's List' for $500 million and later merged it with its 'HomeAdvisor' unit, rebranding to Angi in 2021.

Angi represents nearly one-third of IAC's revenue, making it the company's second-largest income source. However, Angi's revenue has decreased for seven consecutive quarters due to diminished service requests and the elimination of low-margin revenue streams acquired through paid marketing.

In the quarter ending September, Angi's revenue fell 16% to $296.7 million.

The potential spin-off would mark the tenth public company to emerge from IAC, which has a history of developing and then separating businesses. Past spin-offs include video streaming platform Vimeo (NASDAQ:VMEO) and dating app operator Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH).

IAC CEO Joey Levin stated, "Angi's economic foundation continues to strengthen, and we suspect that Angi's best shot at realizing that upside to the benefit of our shareholders may be as a standalone company."

For the third quarter, IAC reported revenue of $938.7 million, exceeding analysts' estimates of $922.2 million.

Digital revenue from Dotdash Meredith, which includes brands like Investopedia and Food & Wine magazine, increased 16% to $246.4 million – marking its largest quarterly growth since the Dotdash and Meredith merger in 2021.

IAC also announced plans to report results for its in-home care services platform Care.com as a separate segment starting in the fourth quarter.