Hearst to Acquire Santa Clara-Based Social Shopping Site Kaboodle

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Hearst, the New York-based media giant, said on Wednesday that it will acquire Santa Clara-based Kaboodle, a social shopping community where users recommend and share products. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Kaboodle, which launched its beta version last year and now draws more than 2 million unique monthly visitors, will become a subsidiary of Hearst. The acquisition instantly makes Heart a major player in the social shopping space, which combines online shopping with social networking. "Kaboodle is a rapidly growing business in a distinctive and fascinating space," said Kenneth Bronfin, the president of Hearst Interactive Media. "[We] believe that Kaboodle will bring to social shopping what MySpace has brought to social media." Manish Chandra, CEO and founder of Kaboodle, said that his company will benefit from Hearst's "deep media and advertising relationships." Hearst owns 12 daily and 31 weekly newspapers, as well as 29 TV stations and nearly 200 magazines.
http://www.hearst.com/news/press_080807.html
http://www.kaboodle.com