News
BackDate:01 June 2012
Moneysupermarket to buy MoneySavingExpert in £87m deal
Price comparison website MoneySupermarket.com has announced it is acquiring personal finance website MoneySavingExpert in a deal worth up to £87m. Consumer expert Martin Lewis launched MoneySavingExpert in 2003 with an initial investment of just £100. The 39-year-old will receive £35m in cash and 22.1m shares plus a further £27m if targets are met under the terms of the deal.
MoneySavingExpert offers consumers free services, including information and recommendations on loans, shopping, credit cards, banking and savings. The website received around 39m unique visitors and 277m page impressions in the year to 31st October 2011. MoneySavingExpert currently receives about 59% of its revenue from MoneySupermarket.
MoneySupermarket, whose website had 140m visitors last year, will fund the deal from its cash reserves and a £20m bank loan.
Mr Lewis said he would donate £10m of the proceeds to charity, including £1m to Citizens Advice. He will remain editor-in-chief of MoneySavingExpert.