Patrick,
Mapquest founder Perry Evans has launched a new company, Local Matters which combines three well-established companies in Internet search and voice-based directory assistance (DA). The new company which was formally launched today has 40 customers worldwide so its already a leading global provider of advanced search and content solutions to existing media publishers and DA service providers.
Local Matters has the technology and industry relationships to be a leader in the high-growth markets for Internet local search, enhanced directory assistance and mobile local search. Today local search represents about 25% of all online searches and can be expected to grow significantly. Local Matters will be able to help yellow pages publishers and DA providers offer content-rich and feature-rich local search portals and enhanced DA services to leverage this growth.
Perry Evans is available for an interview to provide more information on the company, where he sees the industry going and how Local Matters will help both consumers and local businesses realize more benefit from local search.
If you'd like to talk to Perry or get more information on Local Matters, please contact Reid Wegley at 303-494-2636, snipped-for-privacy@104degreeswest.com
A press release on the launch is embedded below and also attached to this note.
Jim Elder Phone: 203-431-3573 Fax: 203-894-1241 Cellphone: 203-470-8659 e-mail: snipped-for-privacy@eldercommunications.com
News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information, please contact: Reid Wegley
104 West Partners Tel: 303-494-2636 snipped-for-privacy@104degreeswest.comAPTAS, ISx AND YP SOLUTIONS MERGE INTO LOCAL MATTERS TO FOCUS ON LOCAL SEARCH
Combined Company Creates Global Leader in Enabling Companies to Augment Local Search, Mobile Search and Enhanced Directory Services
DENVER, Colo. May 23, 2005 Aptas, ISx and YP Solutions today announced that the three companies have merged to become, Local Matters, Inc., a new company providing telephone directory publishers, mobile and directory assistance service providers with strategic technology solutions in Local Search.
With the merger, Local Matters becomes the largest global provider of advanced search and content solutions to existing media publishers and directory assistance service providers, serving more than 40 companies in 18 countries worldwide. The company will leverage established legacies of technology innovation and content transformation experience to enable publishers to build more productive relationships between local advertisers and consumers through new local search capabilities.
"Local Matters is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the high-growth markets for Internet local search, enhanced directory assistance services, and the burgeoning mobile local search opportunity stemming from the convergence of Internet, voice and mobile services," said Perry Evans, CEO and founder of Aptas who will now serve as CEO of Local Matters. "The combined entity offers significantly greater scale and resources to market and strengthen its base of industry innovation centered on leveraging traditional publishing business advantages and developing thriving local marketplace services."
In addition to Mr. Evans, who previously founded MapQuest and Jabber, Local Matter s is piloted by a seasoned management team. Don Jones, president of YP Solutions will serve as president of Local Matters, and Ed Downs, CEO of ISx will continue to serve as CEO of ISx, which will operate as a subsidiary of Local Matters. Aptas executives Jeannette McClennan, chief marketing and products officer, and Susan Dalton, senior vice president of Engineering and Operations, will assume similar positions for Local Matters.
In addition to local search platforms, content transformation services, and enhanced directory assistance, Local Matters is also embarking on a specialized and highly targeted research program, called Local Matters Lab.
The Lab will create a research environment to conduct development projects in conjunction with customers and partners in local search, directory services, content enhancement and applications for mobile devices. This research will be led by a cross-disciplinary team who collaborate with industry experts, business professionals and customers to discover compelling new solutions that work for both consumers and advertisers.
About Local Matters:
LMI was recently formed through the combination of three leading participants in the local search market: Aptas, Inc. ("Aptas"), Information Services Extended, Inc. ("ISx") and YP Web Partners, LLC ("YP Solutions"). This transaction combined two leading providers of Internet local search solutions with a leading provider of voice-based local search solutions.
Local Matters, Inc. (LMI), with more than 40 customers in 18 countries is the largest global provider of advanced search and content solutions to incumbent media publishers and directory assistance service providers. Local Matters is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the high growth markets for Internet local search and enhanced directory assistance services and the burgeoning mobile local search opportunity stemming from the convergence of Internet, voice and mobile services. Local Matters is committed to enabling its customers to offer content and feature-rich local search portals and Enhanced Directory Services that are well differentiated from traditionalInternet search portals.