The rollup

Here's a word you're going to be hearing a lot more: the rollup. At least half a dozen groups, including private equity groups and entrepreneurs such as Ross Levinsohn, are establishing funds to acquire — or roll up — internet media companies. Here's the logic: internet advertising is booming; established media and internet companies can't buy everything, because they have a hard enough job integrating the units they already have; the public offering route is still closed because of excessive regulation; venture capital partnerships typically invest at an earlier stage; and some internet entrepreneurs have profitable businesses, impatience for some personal financial return, and no obvious exit. Which is where the rollup funds come in.

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