Last week Google was going to acquire Yelp for around $500 million. But according to TechCrunch the deal is off, based on contact with multiple sources. Maybe it was an enlightening, Saturday-afternoon walk around the park, perhaps too many Rob Roys during a Friday all-nighter, but for whatever reason, Yelp decided over the weekend to back off the deal.
Details on Yelp’s motivation in backing out of the blockbuster deal remain slim, but no other companies are currently thought to be interested in buying Yelp. Michael Arrington speculates that another major company – in the Apple-Microsoft league – offered up a deal of some form of deal that persuaded Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppleman to forego the Google deal and remain independent. [via TechCrunch]
