IAC/InterActiveCorp splits into 5 companies

— -- While shares of other Internet companies have soared this year, IAC/InterActiveCorp, a mishmash of businesses ranging from online dating to mortgages to Ticketmaster, has languished as investors struggle to understand just exactly what it is.

Even after jumping $2.22, or 7.5%, to $31.84 Monday, the stock is down 14% this year. The USA TODAY Internet 50 index, on the other hand, is up 27.1%.

"It was hard to explain what kind of company IAC was," says Mark Demos, co-portfolio manager of the Fifth Third Technology fund, which owns the stock. "The full value was not realized because (management's) attention was on so many areas."

The breakup is designed to let five companies go their separate ways, including:

•IAC, which will keep the companies that are part of IAC's media and advertising unit, including search engine Ask.com and online dating service Match.com. Investors hope those businesses will generate the growth they expect from an Internet company. IAC's revenue grew 7% and net income fell 4% in the recently reported third quarter.

"In Internet speak, that's not much growth," says Martin Pyykkonen of Global Crown Capital.

The unit gets a head start with a five-year deal with Google under which the search company will pay at least $3.5 billion to deliver ads to Ask.com.

•HSN, which will contain IAC's retail operations, such as shopping network HSN and HSN.com. This unit, which is "still finding its legs," has been challenging for IAC and one of the reasons that the stock has been depressed, says Scott Kessler, stock analyst at Standard & Poor's.

•LendingTree, which will own the mortgage broker service LendingTree plus other real estate businesses such as RealEstate.com and Domania. Housing market troubles have plagued this business and caused some investors to shy away, Kessler says.