After Antitrust Suit, Bazaarvoice Sells PowerReviews To Review Site Viewpoints For $30M

Bazaarvoice just announced that it’s selling PowerReviews for $30 million in cash.

The news comes after an acquisition deal in 2012, followed by an antitrust suit in which the US Department of Justice argued that by bringing together two major consumer review sites in one company, the acquisition would reduce competition. The suit ended with Bazaarvoice agreeing to sell PowerReviews to Wavetable Labs, owner of review site Viewpoints.

The companies said today that they’ve finalized their agreement at the aforementioned $30 million price (the Bazaarvoice/PowerReviews acquisition was worth $168 million, but only $31 million of that was in cash). The deal is still subject to approval from the DOJ.

In a press release, Bazaarvoice CEO Gene Austin said the company’s business has “evolved significantly” since the acquisition.

“Once the sale of PowerReviews is approved and closed, we will be able to put the antitrust litigation behind us and turn our full attention to the large market opportunity ahead of us,” Austin said. “In an era marked by social conversation, our value proposition has never been stronger for brands and retailers facing the challenges of building informative, trusted, and lasting relationships with consumers.”

Meanwhile, Viewpoints said it will now be using PowerReviews as the company name. Viewpoints CEO Matt Moog will continue as CEO, and PowerReviews founding CTO Jim Morris will become CTO of the combined organization. You can read the company’s plans for the PowerReviews site here.