Microsoft Corporation acquired Greenfield Online Inc., a transaction announced in August 2008.
Greenfield Online Inc. operates in Live Search / Online Services, is based in United States and Europe. Greenfield Online was an online consumer and market-research firm that ran internet survey panels and the Ciao European comparison-shopping portal. Microsoft acquired the company chiefly to fold Ciao into its Live Search commerce and search strategy in Europe, then agreed to sell the separate Internet Survey Solutions (ISS) business to private-equity firm ZM Capital as a non-strategic asset.
Gain the Ciao comparison-shopping portal to strengthen Live Search's commercial-search and shopping presence in Europe; divest the survey-panel business as non-core.
The ISS business is not a fit within Microsoft's strategy for our Live Search platform.Tami Reller, Chief Financial Officer, Microsoft Business Division
Advisory firms were not disclosed for this transaction.