Local.com Gets Screamin'

Local.com

announced on Monday the acquisition of Screamin' Media Group (

), which operates Screamin' Daily Deals (

). SDD was founded in early 2010 and has around 60 employees which serve hundreds of thousands of subscribers with deals from local merchants. In 2010, SDD generated revenue of $2.4 million. That grew to $4.4 million in the first half of 2011. SMG now becomes a subsidiary of Local.com and will relocate to corporate headquarters in Irvine, California. Malcolm Lewis, Local.com/Spreebird's senior vice president and general manager, said that, “Local.com's social buying business, Spreebird, will absorb SDD's operations and SDD will assume the Spreebird brand over time.” Regarding what Screamin' Media will bring to the table, Lewis told Benzinga that, “Screamin' Daily Deals offers us immediate scale, expanding our reach to 14 markets, as well as a strong differentiation (the School Rewards program) in a market that is largely not differentiated.” In a press release, Local.com CEO and chairman Heath Clarke said, “The acquisition of SMG serves our mission of connecting brick-and-mortar merchants with online consumers by extending our reach directly to thousands of local merchants in 14 markets. This transaction diversifies our revenues and provides us with a new way to engage consumers. School Rewards is a terrific program that allows us to develop a more meaningful relationship with merchants and consumers by enabling them to contribute financially to their local schools. We look forward to working with the SDD team to accelerate their rapid growth while expanding the School Rewards program.” SMG co-founder Benson Kane is similarly excited. “Local.com's existing commitment to local communities is consistent with our vision for School Rewards. Local.com has a considerable array of assets that we believe we can leverage, including reach of over 20 million consumers each month through its flagship property plus a distribution network of over 1,400 regional media sites. We are very pleased to be joining forces with Local.com to deliver daily deals to an even broader audience of consumers, thereby expanding our ability to engage and serve even more local communities nationwide.”