Irvine-based search engine Local.com Corp. found itself with an $8 million investment from a unit of media company Hearst Corp.
Local.com, which connects advertisers with people looking for products or services in a specific region, has seen its business ebb and flow, launching a big public offering in 2004 and surging on Wall Street before crashing.
The cash infusion by Hearst Interactive Media, which invests in and manages several development-stage companies, will be used for working capital and marketing.
“Hearst’s investment in Local.com is a welcome endorsement of our long-term strategy by one of the largest media companies,” said Chief Executive Heath Clarke.
He said Local.com would use Hearst’s background and knowledge to “ultimately accelerate the development of our own business.”
The company, which went public under the name Interchange Corp., saw its shares slump the following year and has been slow to build back up to its heyday.
Earnings for the December quarter are due Monday. Through the September quarter, Local.com said sales dropped 28% to $10.6 million. A net loss of $10.1 million was reported year-to-date, versus a $3.5 million loss for the same period a year earlier.
The company, which counted a recent market value of about $40 million, acquired an online yellow pages site last month from soUno Directional Media Solutions LLC for $9 million in cash and stock.
