- IAC announced it is buying Care.com for about $500 million in cash. Care.com is one of the biggest marketplaces for babysitters and caregivers.
Care.com — one of the largest online marketplaces for babysitters and caregivers — has agreed to a sale to IAC/InterActive for about $500 million in cash ($15 per share). Care.com has 35 million members in over 20 countries. The deal is expected to close in Q1 2020.
IAC is buying Care.com in order to get into the family care business. IAC’s Mosaic Group CEO Timothy Allen is expected to become the chief executive of Care.com and will be succeeding Care.com founder, chairwoman, and CEO Sheila Lirio Marcelo. Marcelo founded Care.com in October 2006 after working as an entrepreneur in residence at Matrix Partners and as a VP at TheLadders.
Since being founded, Care.com saw over 1.5 million successful matches and was seeing 374,000 paying families as of Q3 2019.
One of the reasons why Care.com saw its stock price fall is due to a Wall Street Journal investigation finding that the vetting process for caregivers is questionable. Marcelo announced that she would be stepping down as CEO in August. And then activist investors started pushing Care.com to be sold.
“Since our founding 13 years ago, we’ve delivered on our mission to help millions of people find affordable, high-quality care and caregivers find meaningful work,” said Marcelo in a statement.
IAC Chief Executive Officer Joey Levin told CNBC that Care.com has made a lot of safety progress since March. And safety will be a “top priority.”
