October 17, 2016

HomeAdvisor, the operator of the home services marketplace in North America and Europe and an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ: IAC), has announced that it has agreed to acquire a controlling interest in MyHammer Holding AG (ETR: MYRK), the German home services marketplace. The stake will be acquired from Holtzbrinck Digital GmbH in a private transaction.

HomeAdvisor also announced that it intends to commence a tender offer to acquire the remaining publicly-held stake in MyHammer at a price of EUR5.14 per share.  The tender offer will launch in the coming weeks, after clearance is obtained from German regulatory authorities.

With the acquisition of MyHammer, HomeAdvisor now owns the market leader in three European countries, with MyHammer in Germany, Travaux.com in France and Werkspot in the Netherlands, and the number three player in Italy under the Instapro brand.  MyHammer also brings a presence in both Austria and the U.K. This year, approximately 60,000 service professionals will use the services of one of HomeAdvisor International’s four brands, and consumers will place nearly two million jobs with gross market value of more than EUR4 billion across all six markets. HomeAdvisor has positioned itself to grow rapidly across Europe as it has in the United States, in both its existing markets through its native brands and new markets via the Instapro brand and technology platform.

“We are extremely excited to add the MyHammer team, the MyHammer brand and the MyHammer network of craftsmen to the HomeAdvisor International family,” said Jeff Kip, CEO of HomeAdvisor International.  “This acquisition is an important step toward our goal of building a European home services champion and replicating HomeAdvisor’s domestic success in Europe, a market comparable in both size and characteristics to North America.”

Based in Germany, MyHammer is a website for helping consumers locate tradespeople and service providers in Europe. The company operates in Germany, Austria and the U.K., offering both private and commercial customers the ability to access quotes quickly and easily from tradespeople, builders and service providers who have all been reviewed by previous customers.

“The HomeAdvisor family provides an ideal environment for MyHammer to continue its strong growth trajectory in German speaking markets,” said Claudia Frese, CEO of MyHammer. “We are very excited to have the opportunity to join forces with some of the most successful brands in our space, both in the United States and in Europe.”

Under the transaction, HomeAdvisor will acquire Holzbrinck Digital’s approximately 70 percent stake in MyHammer Holding AG, as well as Holtzbrinck Digital’s direct ownership stake in the principal operating subsidiary of MyHammer.  HomeAdvisor will also acquire the outstanding loans owed by the MyHammer companies to Holtzbrinck Digital.  Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval in Germany, is expected to close in Q4 2016.