Earlier today the Wall Street Journal reported that Google’s acquisition of travel brand Frommer’s was expected to close "shortly," but we weren’t expecting it to happen by the end of the day. Publisher John Wiley & Sons is announcing the sale of all of its travel assets to Google, including Frommer’s — a brand of popular travel guidebooks like Europe on $5 a Day. The deal is part of a bigger sell-off from Wiley that includes culinary and general interest assets as well as Webster's New World dictionaries and thesauruses and CliffsNotes, although Google hasn't expressed interest in any of these other properties.
It’s still not entirely clear what Google plans to do with Frommer’s. it’s possible it could be rolled into Zagat, but the travel guidebook maker's approach to curated, verified information could provide a lot of value to travelers beyond what’s available just from crowdsourced restaurant reviews.