Google is reportedly in serious talks to acquire Yelp for somewhere in the neighborhood of $500 million, and sources close to the deal say it’s 80% likely to happen, unless another acquirer suddenly steps in, the Times reports. Yelp got its start in San Francisco, founded by PayPal vets Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons, and it was here that the site got its first foothold in a local market where the idea of a truly democratic source for restaurant, retailer, and dentist reviews was an easy sell.
Yelp has since faced a good deal of criticism from local businesses, who have gone so far as to tell extortion-like tales in which paid advertising fees are exchanged for better placement on the site, or the sudden disappearance of bad reviews. With a parent like Google, Yelp would presumably be unstoppable in its quest for domination of the business review market, and the entire world will be subjected to impertinent stories about lost wallets and bad hair days by Yelp Elite members who treat every review like a personal blog entry.
Google Is In Talks to Buy Yelp [NYT]
Google In Discussions to Acquire Yelp For Half Billion Dollars Or More [Tech Crunch]
