Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Microsoft Sells Greenfield's Survey Division To Private Equity Firm

Microsoft Corp. said today that it has sold the Internet survey solutions (ISS) business of Greenfield Online to a private equity firm, ZM Capital L.P. According to Microsoft and Greenfield Online, Greenfield's ISS business will be sold to ZM Surveys LLC, an entity affiliated with ZM Capital, which focuses on entertainment and media investments. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. According to the companies, ZM Capital plans to keep Greenfield Online's ISS business as a stand alone, independent, privately held company. Microsoft had said earlier when it purchased Greenfield for its European price comparison shopping review service that it had sold the Internet survey operations of Greenfield to an unnamed third party. The deal is expected to close in Q4 of this year.