Google Buying Frommer’s Travel Brand to Merge with Zagat
By Theresa Norton Masek
August 13, 2012 1:58 PM
Google is buying the well-known Frommer’s travel guidebook brand from John Wiley & Sons and will combine it with its Zagat restaurant review brand. The pending sale was confirmed by Wiley, which announced in March that Frommer’s was up for sale along with other assets that “no longer align with the company’s long-term business strategy.” Terms were not disclosed.
“The Frommer’s team and the quality and scope of their content will be a great addition to the Zagat team,” a Google spokesperson said in an email statement. “We can’t wait to start working with them on our goal to provide a review for every relevant place in the world.”
Google bought Zagat last September. Frommer’s, which began with the 1957 publication of “Europe on $5 a Day,” now includes over 300 guidebooks as well as the Frommers.com website. It became part of Wiley in 2001.
