Answers.com to be taken private for $127 million

Answers Corp, owner of the popular Q&A website, agreed to be bought by private-equity firm Summit Partners for about $127 million in cash.

Summit Partners, which will execute the acquisition through its portfolio company, AFCV Holdings, offered $10.50 a share for the parent of Answers.com.

The offer price represents a premium of 18 percent to the stock's Wednesday close.

Answers Corp's board unanimously approved the merger and recommended stockholders vote for the deal.

The company operates user-generated questions-and-answers database through its website Answers.com, and earns almost all of its revenue from advertising on the website.

According to research firm comScore, Answers.com had about 52 million unique visitors in the United States in December 2010 and 87 million worldwide. It was also ranked number 20 among the top U.S. web properties for that month.

UBS Investment Bank is acting as the financial adviser for New York-based Answers.com. Jefferies is serving as financial adviser for AFCV Holdings.

Shares of Answers Corp rose as much as 17 percent to touch a year-high of $10.45 in Thursday morning trade on Nasdaq.

(Reporting by A.Ananthalakshmi in Bangalore; Editing by Anne Pallivathuckal)