Google in talks to acquire Yelp

Fresh off its acquisitions of mobile advertising network AdMob, video solutions firm On2 Technologies and online advertising solutions provider Teracent, Google is reportedly poised to continue its shopping spree as it negotiates to purchase local business review site Yelp. Citing three sources with knowledge of the deal, The New York Times reports Google first held acquisition talks with Yelp several years ago, but the discussion grew more serious in the last two months--the companies have talked price and related details, but an official agreement remains unsigned. Yelp's asking price is said to be north of $500 million.

Yelp--founded in 2004 by PayPal veterans Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons--offers user reviews and related social commerce tools spanning local businesses across the U.S. and Canada. Over 25 million consumers access the service each month, and the startup is expected to generate revenues topping $30 million in 2009, driven by ad sales. In addition to its mobile website, Yelp also offers smartphone applications optimized for the iPhone, BlackBerry and Palm Pre platforms as well as Google's Android operating system.

For more on the Google/Yelp negotiations:
- read this New York Times article