Google is in talks to acquire Yelp Inc, an Internet local search and review provider, according to published reports.

The companies have conducted talks in past years, but in recent months the discussions have become serious, the New York Times said, citing people with knowledge of the deal.

The paper said an acquisition price was likely to be more than than $500 million cited by technology blog TechCrunch, which first reported the news.

Founded in 2004, San Francisco-based Yelp makes money by selling ads to local businesses. As of November, more than 26 million people visited Yelp in the previous 30 days, the company said on its site.

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