The New York Times Company is approaching a deal to sell off its declining About.com unit to Answers.com.
According to Peter Kafka at AllThingsD, Answers.com is planning to pay $270 million for the site, which produces an ever-expanding catalog of guides on topics ranging from lawn care to magic tricks. Private equity firms Summit Partners and TA Associates are still raising funds to finance the deal, writes Kafka.
The About Group was largely responsible for revenue declines at The Times Company last quarter. The company reported an operating loss of $143.6 million for the quarter after taking a $194.7 million non-cash writedown for the About Group. Falling display and cost-per-click advertising revenues at the Group also led overall declines in print (-8%) and digital (-4%) advertising across the company.
The Times bought About.com for $410 million in 2005. Like Demand Media, it depends primarily on search to generate traffic.
In an email to Mashable, Abbe Serphos, executive director of corporate communications at the Times Company, wrote, "It is our longstanding policy not to comment on potential acquisitions or divestitures."