LivingSocial closes down Jump On It

US group buying giant LivingSocial has closed down sister site Jump On It, transferring all subscribers and customers into LivingSocial Australia, three months after acquiring Jump On It.

Jump On It was founded by Colin Fabig, James Gilbert and Adam Rigby in late 2009, just as the group buying craze was starting to take hold.

Prior to co-founding Jump On It, Rigby served as chief operating officer of InfoChoice.

From today, Jump On It customers who did not previously open an account with LivingSocial will be granted one automatically.

They will be able to access their new account using Jump On It log-ins.

According to Rigby, executive general manager of LivingSocial Australia and New Zealand, the move is a “historic moment” for LivingSocial Australia.

“By combining our merchants and subscribers into LivingSocial, we cement our already leading position within Australia,” Rigby said in a statement.

The businesses – which have operated as partners since Jump On It was acquired by LivingSocial earlier this year – will now be merged into LivingSocial, with the same operational team guiding both their merchants and customer base.

According to LivingSocial, moving the Jump On It customers and merchants “will be an entirely seamless transition”.

The news comes just three months after LivingSocial acquired Jump On It – in a deal believed to be worth around $40 million – after taking a 31% stake in the company.

In late 2010, Jump On It made headlines when LivingSocial invested in the company, taking a 31% stake for $5 million as a placeholder for an outright acquisition.

Then in December last year, LivingSocial senior executives returned to Australia to sweep up the remainder of Jump On It, which is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of LivingSocial.

Based in Washington, LivingSocial operates in 25 countries and boasts 10 million subscribers.

With regard to acquisitions, a LivingSocial spokesperson said the company looked for businesses with “a great team, great employees, really good potential for growth, and good cultural fits”.