Bankrate, Inc. Acquires Consumer Credit Monitoring Company Quizzle from Detroit-based Quicken Loans

NEW YORK, April 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Bankrate, Inc. (NYSE: RATE) announced the acquisition of Detroit-based Quizzle.com, a leading national free credit report and monitoring site. Quizzle provides users with free credit scores & credit reports, as well as credit monitoring and identity protection. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"The acquisition of Quizzle is a next step in our long-term strategy to establish an ongoing relationship with our massive audience," said Kenneth Esterow, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bankrate. "Quizzle does a tremendous job of simplifying the complicated world of credit and helping users strengthen their financial health. This focus on helping consumers makes Quizzle a strong addition to the Bankrate family."

As part of the acquisition, Bankrate will retain Quizzle's technology platform, vendor relationships and over 2 million accounts.

Founded in 2008, Quizzle began as a project inside the marketing team at Detroit-based Quicken Loans – the nation's largest online mortgage lender. The acquisition of Quizzle marks the first time a Quicken Loans-conceived and built company has been acquired.

"Our shared goal of serving our clients is what makes this acquisition a great fit for both Quizzle and Bankrate," said Todd Albery, Quizzle CEO. "Bankrate's financially-savvy and engaged audience, paired with their leading partnerships and technology, will be a great home for Quizzle, while also making Bankrate the go-to destination on the internet for personalized financial solutions."

Quizzle.com will remain headquartered in Detroit, where it will focus on working with other Bankrate companies to help consumers master life's important decisions.

About Bankrate, Inc.
Bankrate is a leading publisher, aggregator, and distributor of personal finance content on the Internet. Bankrate provides consumers with proprietary, fully researched, comprehensive, independent and objective personal finance editorial content across multiple vertical categories including mortgages, deposits, insurance, credit cards, and other categories, such as retirement, automobile loans, and taxes. The Bankrate network includes Bankrate.com, CreditCards.com, InsuranceQuotes.com and Caring.com, our flagship websites, and other owned and operated personal finance websites, including Interest.com, Bankaholic.com, Mortgage-calc.com, CreditCardGuide.com, CarInsuranceQuotes.com, Insweb.com, CreditCards.ca, and NetQuote.com. Bankrate aggregates rate information from over 4,800 institutions on more than 300 financial products. With coverage of over 600 local markets, Bankrate generates rate tables in all 50 U.S. states. Bankrate develops and provides web services to over 100 co-branded websites with online partners, including some of the most trusted and frequently visited personal finance sites on the Internet such as Yahoo!, AOL, CNBC, and Bloomberg. In addition, Bankrate licenses editorial content to over 500 newspapers on a daily basis including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe.

About Quizzle
Quizzle is an innovative website that helps consumers gain a complete understanding of their home, money and credit situation – with a truly free credit report and score every six months. Located in Detroit, Quizzle.com began as a project inside Quicken Loans and spun off into its own company in September 2009. At Quizzle, consumers learn specific actions to improve their financial health with helpful tools and information – including a free credit report and score, credit builder tools, and personalized recommendations. For more information about Quizzle, please visit www.quizzle.com, on Twitter at @Quizzle, and on Facebook at facebook.com/Quizzle.

Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements, which include statements expressing the intent, belief or current expectations of Bankrate and Quizzle that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, many of which are beyond our control. Actual results might differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties associated with the transaction and Bankrate's and Quizzle's businesses, which include, but are not limited to: macroeconomic conditions and general industry conditions such as the competitive environment and the growth prospects for the provision of credit related services online; the effects of disruption from the transaction making it more difficult to maintain relationships with employees, users of the Quizzle platform, vendors and other business partners; our ability to successfully execute on our strategies, including without limitation those initiatives mentioned in this release, and the effectiveness of our strategies, including without limitation whether they result in increased revenue or profitability; litigation and regulatory risks; and risks related to the successful integration of the business acquired and the ability to realize the expected benefits from such acquisition. For more information about factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations, refer to Bankrate's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the discussion under "Risk Factors" in Bankrate's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 along with any modifications or updates to those "Risk Factors" in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. These documents are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Bankrate undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.

For more information contact:
Kayleen Yates
Senior Director, Corporate Communications
(917) 368-8677
[email protected]

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SOURCE Bankrate, Inc.

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