IAC/Interactive Group (NASDAQ:IAC) is a leading media and internet conglomerate that has a multi-decade track record of developing valuable media companies, which have in the past included Expedia, TripAdvisor, Ticketmaster, and The Home Shopping Network. Today, IAC owns a collection of businesses that includes HomeAdvisor, the leading marketplace connecting homeowners with service professionals for home improvement projects, and Vimeo, a fast-growing video platform and video-on-demand marketplace. The most valuable asset at IAC is the company’s majority ownership interest in Match Group. Match is the world’s largest online dating services provider comprising 45 different brands that IAC took public through an IPO in late 2015. IAC continues to own more than 80% interest in Match (NASDAQ:MTCH), which we think is a unique and under-appreciated asset. We have been impressed with the company’s strong history of value creation and recent capital allocation savvy, and we believe that both Match Group and HomeAdvisor have reached a point of industry leadership following a multi-year “land grab” strategy and that both businesses are now demonstrating impressive profitability growth as the businesses mature. We think these businesses could combine continued strong revenue growth with expanding profit margins for several years, and we believed at the time of our purchase of IAC shares that the market price did not fully reflect the value creation potential inherent in these businesses as well as the company’s portfolio of other internet and media assets.
From Zeke Ashton (Trades, Portfolio)'s Centaur Management 2016 annual letter to investors.
