BT LookSmart buys UK Plus

BT LookSmart has bought the UK Plus search engine brand for an undisclosed sum from Associated New Media.
No details of job losses or transfers have been released either.

The sum was probably peanuts - search engines are expensive to run, which is why brands are handing over the technology to the likes of Google, Fast Search, Overture, and DMOZ. By handing over UKPlus to BT Looksmart, ANM loses a lossmaker and gains a profit centre.

BT LookSmart will replace the UK Plus search engine with its own, complete with Payola results at the top, paid for by advertisers. And it will handle 'graphical advertising' on UK Plus. ANM earns kickbacks from the results.

UKPlus is the inhouse search brand for the ANM collection of sites - Femail.co.uk and ThisisLondon.com, Thisismoney.com etc.

BT LookSmart is a $200m JV between BT and the US-based paid-for listing search engine firm. It operates in Europe and Asia. ®

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