Google Buys Frommer's Travel Guides

Apparently Google loves big-name guidebooks. The search giant has agreed to buy the Frommer's brand of travel guides for an undisclosed sum, Frommer's current owner, John Wiley & Sons, tells the Wall Street Journal. Wiley had been publicly trying to unload the brand, saying it no longer fit with their strategy. The sale comes on the heels of Google's acquisition of Zagat last fall, and it may decide to merge the two brands.

While Zagat focuses on restaurants, Frommer's brings expertise in hotels and other destinations."Our commitment is to keep things as they are today," a Zagat executive said. "Once we combine operations, we'll know better what the future looks like." It's unclear yet if Frommer's will keep publishing physical books, or move its operation entirely online.