QuinStreet

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QuinStreet, Inc.
Company type Public
Nasdaq:  QNST
S&P 600 component
IndustryPerformance marketing, media online
Founded1999;25 years ago (1999)
FounderDoug Valenti
Headquarters Foster City, California, U.S.
Key people
Doug Valenti (CEO)
Nina Bhanap (president and CTO)
Revenue$490 million (2019 [1] )
Number of employees
637 (2019) [1]
Website www.quinstreet.com

QuinStreet, Inc. is a publicly traded marketing company based in Foster City, California.

Contents

The company was investigated in 2012 by 20 U.S. states for using deceptive marketing tactics to promote for-profit schools to U.S. veterans. QuinStreet agreed to pay $2.5 million and made several changes to its practices to end the investigation.

QuinStreet divested their education client vertical on August 31, 2020.

History

QuinStreet was formed in 1999 by Doug Valenti (chairman and CEO). Bronwyn Syiek, another founding team member, was president and COO. The company was first profitable in 2002 with revenues of $13 million; by April 2009, QuinStreet reported $300 million in annual revenues and approximately 450 employees. [2] [3]

QuinStreet Inc. acquired U.S. Citizens for Fair Credit Card Terms, Inc, which operated the CardRatings.com website in August 2008 for an initial cash payment of $10.4 million. [4]

In the beginning of August 2009, QuinStreet Inc. used some of its cash reserves to acquire the Internet.com division of WebMediaBrands Inc. for $18 million. [5] [6]

In September 2009, QuinStreet purchased Insure.com for $16 million. [7] The company's other financial-services properties include MoneyRates.com, Get Rich Slowly, ConsumerismCommentary.com and HSH.com. [8]

An initial public offering on February 11, 2010, raised $150 million, with the shares listed on Nasdaq under the symbol QNST. [9]

In September 2011, QuinStreet acquired the IT Business Edge (ITBE) network of web publications [10]

In February 2012, the company acquired the media assets of Ziff Davis "Enterprise", which included eWeek.com, CIOInsight.com, Baseline.com, ChannelInsider.com and WebBuyersGuide.com, and others. [11]

In 2018, the company acquired AmOne, an online marketing company. [12] In 2019, Quinstreet acquired CloudControlMedia, LLC and MyBankTracker.com, LLC. [12] [13] [14]

In 2020, QuinStreet sold its B2B tech publications to TechnologyAdvice. [15]

Deceptive advertising investigation and settlement

In June 2012, the company was under investigation by the Attorneys General's offices of 15 separate US states, led by the Attorney General of Kentucky, Jack Conway. [16] The company was accused of targeting military veterans with deceptive recruiting practices for its for-profit school clients. [17] The company agreed to pay a $2.5 million fine and relinquish the website GIBill.com. [17] Quinstreet's education clients have included Art Institutes, DeVry University, Kaplan University, University of Phoenix, Westwood, and other for-profit colleges. [18] [19]

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References

  1. 1 2 "QuinStreet 2019 10K filing" . Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  2. ↑ Geron, Tomio (August 18, 2009). "QuinStreet Publicly Boasts About Its Earnings". WSJ Blogs. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
  3. ↑ "QuinStreet, Inc". Company profile from Hoover's. Hoover's. 2011. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
  4. ↑ "sv1". www.sec.gov. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  5. ↑ Ali, Rafat (August 9, 2009). "Meckler Selling Internet.com Business to QuinStreet For $18M; Exiting Tech Trade". paidContent . Retrieved January 5, 2011.
  6. ↑ "WebMediaBrands Sells Internet.com to QuinStreet". InternetNews.com. internet.com. August 10, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
  7. ↑ "QuinStreet buys Insure.com". San Francisco Business Times. October 12, 2009.
  8. ↑ "QuinStreet Announces Acquisition of ConsumerismCommentary.com". QuinStreet. November 28, 2011.
  9. ↑ "QuinStreet, Inc (QNST)". IPO record. NASDAQ. February 11, 2010. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  10. ↑ "QuinStreet, Inc. - QuinStreet Announces Acquisition of IT Business Edge". investor.quinstreet.com. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
  11. ↑ "QuinStreet Acquires Ziff Davis Enterprise Media Assets". QuinStreet. February 6, 2012. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013.
  12. 1 2 SEC. "Quinstreet, Inc 2019 Quarterly Report 10-Q". SEC.report. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  13. ↑ "QNST.A - QuinStreet Inc Key Developments". Reuters. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  14. ↑ "QuinStreet buys digital marketing agency". www.spglobal.com. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  15. ↑ Staff, eWeek. "eWEEK Moves to New Publisher, TechnologyAdvice.com". eweek.com. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Fifteen State Attorneys General To Investigate Company Marketing For-Profit Colleges To Veterans". ThinkProgress . June 6, 2012. Archived from the original on April 14, 2024.
  17. 1 2 "QuinStreet settles complaints it misled veterans". San Francisco Chronicle. June 28, 2012.
  18. ↑ Halperin, David (February 1, 2016). "Military-Branded Websites Push Veterans to Troubled For-Profit Colleges". Huffington Post.
  19. ↑ "Company profile. DeVry, Inc" (PDF). senate.gov. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
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