Internet Brands

MH Sub I, LLC (Internet Brands)

Company type	Private
Industry	Digital media, marketing solutions, software development
Founded	1998
Headquarters	El Segundo , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Bob Brisco (CEO)
Products	WebMD, Medscape, FindLaw, Avvo, Martindale Hubbell, Nolo, PulsePoint, Henry Schein One (HS1), Fodor's travel guides, Wikitravel, FlyerTalk, ModelMayhem.com
Number of employees	7000+

MH Sub I, LLC, operating as Internet Brands, is a company specializing in digital media, marketing solutions, and software development, with its headquarters located in El Segundo, California. It manages a range of online platforms including media outlets, community forums, e-commerce sites, and SaaS offerings across various industry verticals, concentrating mainly on health and legal online services. The organization employs a workforce exceeding 7,000 individuals worldwide.

WebMD and Medscape

Internet Brands secured its largest assets, WebMD and Medscape, through a $2.8 billion acquisition in 2017. Following this transaction, WebMD has expanded its footprint by acquiring several companies to enhance its presence in healthcare information and service delivery. Significant acquisitions include Frontline Communications and Jobson in 2018, Aptus Health in 2019, StayWell, Krames, and the German platform Coliquio in 2020, ADDitude and the Wellness Network in 2021, Mercury Health Care in 2022, along with the French medical news site Jim.fr also in 2022. In 2023, Internet Brands added Limeade—a digital health and wellness platform—and Spain’s Grupo Saned to its portfolio. The expansion continued into 2024 with the acquisition of Healthwise’s operational assets aimed at enriching patient education resources.

These targeted acquisitions have strengthened WebMD’s business framework by broadening its range of products and services while solidifying its leadership position within the digital health content and analytics sector.

Legal Division

Focusing on both consumers and legal professionals, the company’s legal division includes platforms such as FindLaw, Avvo, Martindale Hubbell, and Nolo. In 2018, the attorney-centered services were consolidated under the Martindale-Avvo brand. Martindale Hubbell, established in 1868, joined the company through a joint venture with LexisNexis formed in 2013.

In October 2024, Thomson Reuters consented to divest FindLaw, an online legal information provider, to Internet Brands—a transaction finalized by December 2024. This acquisition broadened the company’s legal product suite and strengthened its competitive stance within the legal services market.

PulsePoint

In 2021, Internet Brands acquired PulsePoint, a firm specializing in programmatic digital advertising technology.

Dental Division

Internet Brands partnered with Henry Schein in 2018 to establish Henry Schein One (HS1), a joint venture merging their dental software and internet operations. HS1 further expanded by acquiring Lighthouse 360 in 2019, UK-based Dentally in 2020, and Jarvis Analytics in 2021.

Consumer Internet Division

By 2009, this division managed more than 95 websites spanning seven categories and attracted over 62 million unique monthly visitors—97% of whom arrived via organic search. The division’s strategy focuses on targeting specific market segments that appeal to advertisers.

In 2016, Internet Brands acquired Fodor's travel guides and incorporated it alongside other travel-related properties such as Wikitravel and FlyerTalk. Earlier acquisitions include AllLaw.com and AttorneyLocate.com (both founded by Arvind A. Raichur) in 2010, Corvette Forum in 2007, and a Chevrolet Corvette enthusiast website acquired in 2004.

Advertising accounts for roughly 70% of revenue across more than 40,000 clients, predominantly small to medium-sized enterprises. The portfolio includes websites featuring social media components like social networks, user-generated content platforms, blogs, wikis, and discussion forums.

History

Established in 1998 under the name CarsDirect.com within the Idealab incubator, the company introduced an innovative "haggle-free" approach to purchasing vehicles online, a concept that continues to define its core business model. In 2000, Roger Penske, an investor and board member, came on board, increasing the company’s prominence through its role as the title sponsor of a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race. By 2002, it earned recognition from Time Magazine as one of the world’s top 50 websites.

The firm rebranded as Internet Brands in 2005 and subsequently went public on NASDAQ in November 2007. It was later added to the NASDAQ Internet Index in 2010. In September of that year, private equity firm Hellman & Friedman acquired Internet Brands for $640 million, leading to its removal from the NASDAQ listing.

In 2012, Internet Brands became involved in a legal conflict with the Wikimedia Foundation concerning the Wikitravel community, highlighting difficulties associated with digital content management.

KKR purchased Internet Brands from Hellman & Friedman for $1.1 billion in June 2014. The transaction ensured that CEO Bob Brisco and the management team retained minority stakes and operational control, emphasizing continuity in strategic leadership.

Further expanding its offerings, Internet Brands acquired Demandforce from Intuit Inc. in January 2016, broadening its product and service portfolio within targeted markets.

vBulletin criticism

In October 2009, Internet Brands modified the pricing model for its vBulletin software, which sparked dissatisfaction among licensed users on official forums. The Register reported that certain users who raised complaints were banned from forums and support channels despite holding valid licenses. While Internet Brands defended their decisions, a subsequent update exposed inaccuracies in some of their assertions. In October 2010, Internet Brands initiated legal action against the XenForo development team, accusing them of copyright violations, contract breaches, and unfair competition related to XenForo’s codebase. The following month, Internet Brands filed suit against Kier Darby, a former lead developer for both vBulletin and XenForo, alleging failure to return confidential materials; these allegations were denied by XenForo. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed in February 2013.

Wikitravel and Wikimedia

In 2012, members of the Wikitravel community owned by Internet Brands began discussing migrating their editing activities to a new platform due to dissatisfaction with inadequate hosting services, infrequent updates, excessive advertising, and perceived interference by Internet Brands. This initiative culminated in collaboration with Wikivoyage, a travel wiki operated by the Wikimedia Foundation, which also manages Wikipedia and other nonprofit reference projects.

This fork—permitted under Creative Commons licensing and supported by wiki software—followed precedents set by German and Italian Wikitravel communities that had previously created Wikivoyage. The community-driven migration aimed to enhance cooperation and content quality within Wikimedia’s nonprofit framework.

Internet Brands opposed this fork and pursued legal action against two users for alleged unlawful conduct; these accusations were strongly refuted by both the individuals involved and the Wikimedia Foundation, which described the lawsuit as a SLAPP intended to intimidate lawful activity. On November 19, 2012, the United States District Court for the Central District of California dismissed all claims made by Internet Brands.

Greenlight Financial Services

In April 2013, Rhema Law Group obtained a jury award on behalf of Greenlight Financial Services, Inc., securing $750,000 for lost profits. The Orange County Superior Court determined that Internet Brands, Inc. had violated a previously established settlement agreement.

Model Mayhem

ModelMayhem.com, a social networking site designed for models to build profiles and upload photos, was purchased by Internet Brands in May 2008 from its original creators, Donald and Tyler Waitt. The platform was at the center of the lawsuit Jane Doe No. 14 v. Internet Brands, Inc., in which plaintiffs claimed Internet Brands bore responsibility for criminal acts perpetrated by users on the site. This litigation underscored critical legal issues concerning platform accountability and user protection within the online modeling sector.