Eagan-based FindLaw.com will be sold to the owner of WebMD and other legal and health digital businesses.
Thomson Reuters selling Eagan-based FindLaw to owner of WebMD
The company declined to share the expected impact on its Twin Cities-based employees.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
October 7, 2024 at 9:47PM
Toronto-based Thomson Reuters, FindLaw’s current owner, did not release terms of the deal to sell FindLaw to California-based Internet Brands. It is not yet clear what the sale means for FindLaw employees in Eagan.
“As part of this deal, Internet Brands will offer FindLaw employees comparable roles or to transfer to the new entity in accordance with the applicable country law, policy and/or practice. Employees will remain employed by Thomson Reuters until the deal closes,” said a Thomson Reuters spokesperson in a statement.
The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.
In the past two earnings calls, Thomson Reuters officials talked about how the company is becoming more aggressive as far as its mergers and acquisitions policy.
FindLaw also has not been performing as well as the rest Thomson Reuters’ legal portfolio.
“The business that continues to provide some headwinds is the FindLaw business, which I’ve now mentioned, I think, for three, four quarters consecutively. The growth rate for FindLaw is slower than the other portions of the business, which creates some suppression,” said Chief Financial Officer Mike Eastwood in the quarterly earnings call in August.
Overall legal revenue was up 3% in the second quarter and Eastwood said he expects a “modest step-up” in the remainder of the year.
Thomson Reuters declined to disclose any details about the number of FindLaw and company employees in the state, citing regulatory review of the deal.
A decade ago, FindLaw employed hundreds in Eagan. Overall Thomson Reuters employment was around 4,000 when it announced it was selling its corporate campus in Eagan in 2023. This year, the company moved to smaller offices in Eagan.
FindLaw offers legal information for consumers, marketing for law firms and resources for lawyers, from law students to corporate business counsel.
Internet Brands focuses on health, automotive, legal and travel businesses and operates Medscape and Fodor’s Travel. The company did not respond to requests for comment.
Thomson acquired Minnesota-based West Publishing, known for its Westlaw legal research tool, for $3.4 billion in 1996. Thomson continues to operate Westlaw, which is not part of the FindLaw business.
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