News Byte

Marchex Acquires Jingle Networks for $62.5 Million

Seattle-based Marchex has acquired Jingle Networks, the company known for business search by dialing 1-800-FREE411 or using a mobile application. Marchex said that, with the acquisition, the company’s call-driven revenues will represent more than 75 percent of the company’s annual revenues by the end of the year. Marchex will pay up to $62.5 million in cash and stock for the privately held company, which has raised close to $90 million in venture capital. Marchex’s stock traded higher, increasing 25 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $7.72 a share.

Bing: Is That an Acronym for “Bing Is Not Google”?

Microsoft’s new search engine Bing unexpectedly went live this morning ahead of its scheduled June 3 launch date and it’s already done much to distinguish itself from Microsoft’s previous efforts in search. Certainly there’s far more verb potential in Bing than “Microsoft Live Search,” the service it’s replacing. And — beyond all this silliness about Bing’s prowess in adult entertainment queries — there’s a lot to impress.
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