Google Announces Purchase of Zagat

Last week, in a surprising move by Google, Zagat was bought out by the multi-billion dollar corporation. For those who are unfamiliar with Zagat, it is one of the world's leading providers of consumer survey-based information on places to dine, drink, travel and more. It started as a hobby 32 years ago, and has been expanding steadily ever since. Today, there are reviews that cover over than 100 countries worldwide. Google executive, Marissa Mayer, was the one who announced the deal on the official Google blog, and even went as far as to tweet a haiku about it:

Delightful deal done; Zagat and Google now one; foodies have more fun! http://goo.gl/Gwnxg #gogooglelocal

Her excitement is palpable and it is obvious that Google has big plans for Zagat, a company that has found success by housing ratings and reviews based on the opinions of over 350,000 surveyors from around the globe.

For the founders of the company, Nina and Tim Zagat, Google’s offer most likely came as a pleasant surprise. It is known that the Zagats made an attempt to sell the site in 2008, but were met with little success. It is estimated that Google purchased the company for $125 million—a price the Zagats were obviously pleased with. They issued a statement about the company’s new fate on their site to let their users know about the recent sale:

“After spending time with Google senior management discussing our mutual goals, we know they share our belief in user-generated content and our commitment to accuracy and fairness in providing users with the information needed to make smart decisions about where to eat, shop and travel. We believe this union is the right next step for our employees, our users and for our business, all of which will benefit from the additional resources and reach that Google provides. Going forward, we will remain active in the business as co-Chairs, helping to ensure that the combination of Zagat’s and Google’s assets and capabilities will maximize our product quality and growth.”

Google already has listings and maps for restaurants and other small businesses, so to collaborate with Zagat can only bring more success to the corporation.

Have you used Zagat? Are you excited for the merging of Google and Zagat? Let us know!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Katie Tully.