
Yomiuri: Net info proves costly for Pia magazine
Gourmet Navigator turned profitable in 2001 and now makes a profit of around 600 million yen on turnover of 5.5 billion. The stock doubled on listing and subsequently gave up its gainsPia Corp. has announced the sale of Gourmet Pia, an online provider of restaurant information, to Tokyo-based investment fund Nippon Mirai Capital Co. Declining sales of Pia magazine, the main product of leading ticket seller Pia since its release in 1972, was the major reason for the disposal of Gourmet Pia...According to a Pia employee, Gourmet Pia, including its database on about 15,000 restaurants and naming rights, was sold for about 112 million yen. All 40 employees were transferred to the new company...Gourmet Navigator Inc., which was listed in April on the Hercules start-up market of the Osaka Stock Exchange, is the largest restaurant Web site, offering information on about 45,000 restaurants. Gourmet Pia is said to be the second largest.