Nextag Snaps up the Hottest Ticket in Town

SAN MATEO, Calif., Dec. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Nextag^®, (Nextag.com), taps the event ticketing market through the acquisition of FanSnap^®, (Fansnap.com), a leading online ticket comparison shopping site. With 40 million customers shopping monthly for products and travel deals, Nextag broadens the user experience by introducing a live event ticket search engine and associated social tools for sporting events, concerts and theater.

The FanSnap ticket search engine provides consumers with a single, comprehensive view of event tickets available from leading ticket providers and resellers. Fans can search the most up-to-date ticket data, using the criteria that are important to them – price, number of tickets, venue section, location, date and time, or ticket provider – to find some of the best seats available at the right price.

"As we grow into 2012, our vision for Nextag is to create a better shopping experience for users, and a better merchandising platform for suppliers.  With FanSnap we're acquiring the talent, relationships, and software capability to expand this vision into an entirely new market – event ticketing – with the most innovative social commerce tools available," said Jeffrey G. Katz, chief executive officer of Nextag. "Very soon on Nextag, customers will be able to scoop up some of the best tickets possible to their favorite sporting or music events, find a room to stay in, and outfit the whole family in related gear."

"At FanSnap, our focus remains on making it easy for consumers who are fans to find some of the best values in sports, theater, and concert tickets, both from the primary and resale market," said FanSnap CEO and Co-founder Mike Janes. "Joining Nextag, with its tremendous customer base, legacy as a leading comparison shopping engine, and industry-leading search technologies, ensures that many more fans will not only see the amazing entertainment choices available but also be assured they can find the best value."

Mike Janes is an industry veteran with more than 20 years experience in building brands focused on superior customer experiences. Prior to co-founding FanSnap, he was Chief Marketing Officer of StubHub, the world's largest ticket marketplace. Additionally, Mike has held key positions as the first Vice President/General Manager of Apple Computer's online Apple Store, and spent more than 14 years at FedEx in a variety of roles, including Vice President of Electronic Commerce and Logistics Marketing.

The acquisition of FanSnap marks Nextag's fifth in fifteen months. In October 2011, Nextag acquired ThingBuzz^©, a real-time social shopping platform that tracks the conversation about products in the social media sphere. In June 2011, Nextag acquired Germany's guenstiger.de GmbH, the leading provider of online comparison shopping services in Europe's largest market. Previously, the company acquired Wize, Inc., a product review and recommendations site, and NextCoupons.com, a coupon site. These acquisitions are part of Nextag's aggressive growth strategy, which also includes strategic hiring, technology development and global expansion.

FanSnap will relocate their team to Nextag's headquarters in San Mateo, Ca. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

About Nextag
Nextag^® is shopping. Offering one of the most comprehensive product catalogs online, Nextag delivers the tools and technology that can help shoppers make smarter purchasing decisions. With nearly a half billion people visiting its sites each year, Nextag offers an unparalleled shopping experience whether searching for shoes, appliances, jewelry or cameras, cosmetics and travel destinations. Since 1999 consumers continue to choose Nextag for shopping. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, Nextag has offices in Chicago, London, Tokyo, Hamburg and Gurgaon, India.

About FanSnap
FanSnap^® is the leading online ticket comparison shopping site. Fans use FanSnap to shop 50+ of the most trusted secondary market ticket sites for the best deals on sports, theater and concert tickets. Partners include TicketsNow, TicketNetwork, StubHub, RazorGator, Las Vegas Tickets, Gold Coast Tickets, eBay, Barry's Tickets, AllShows.com, Tickets-for-Charity and Ace Ticket. Our detailed ticket-level search results are made possible by the combination of strategic industry partnerships and systems integration, as well as our FanSnap TicketData(SM) systems and patent-pending dynamic FanSnap Maps(SM).

SOURCE Nextag