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Bankrate Acquires Lead Generator By James Comtois As part of a plan to increase its revenue streams and expand its presence in the mortgage market, Bankrate, Inc., the owner and operator of the online banking marketplace Bankrate.com, has recently acquired two companies: FastFind, a San Francisco-based seller of consumer leads to lenders, and MMIS/Interest.com of Villa Park, Ill., for a total of $40 million. FastFind, an Internet lead aggregator, was purchased for $10 million in cash, subject to post-closing adjustments. MMIS, which publishes mortgage guides in more than 300 newspapers and operates Interest.com, a website that publishes financial rates and information connecting consumers with lenders, was acquired for $30 million in cash, subject to post-closing adjustments. Bankrate.com, a site for personal banking, investing, taxes, debt management and college finance, is also an aggregator of more than 300 financial products, including mortgages, credit cards, new and used auto loans, money market accounts and CDs, checking and ATM fees, home equity loans and online banking fees. Bankrate.com reviews more than 4,800 financial institutions in 575 markets. "This acquisition rapidly propels Bankrate into the lead aggregation sector and will add a new revenue stream to our business," said Thomas Evans, president and CEO of Bankrate, adding, "We intend to leverage our consumer Internet traffic to enhance the FastFind lead generating platform. The online mortgage industry represents an enormous, emerging and addressable market." According to a recent Borrell Associates research report, the mortgage industry will spend $2.5 billion in online advertising in 2005. The Borrell analysts expect that figure to more than double to $5.2 billion by 2009. "The MMIS acquisition we felt we could increase the advertising support given the dollars that are coming to the Internet. We can increase the number of ads we sell on the site, and on the hyperlink, we change it to a cost-per-click model. Basically, the sites [Interest.com and Bankrate.com] are similar in nature," said Mr. Evans. Founded in 2004, FastFind is a free online service that matches consumers looking for a financial or education product with businesses that want to sell their goods or services. After completing a short questionnaire on the FastFind website, borrowers can be matched to up to four lenders. MMIS, which was formed in 1987, is the parent company of Interest.com, an Internet finance marketplace educating and connecting consumers to quality lenders. MMIS provides newspapers with mortgage features, editorial content and mortgage education tools. "We think it's going to make Bankrate a bigger and more profitable company. These acquisitions will give us a bigger footprint and will make us more profitable," said Mr. Evans.

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