[Techtaffy Newsdesk]

Metasearch products company InfoSpace has signed a definitive agreement to acquire TaxACT, a provider of online tax solutions, for $287.5 million in cash. The acquisition is subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2012.

Based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, TaxACT has approximately 70 full-time employees, and had more than five million tax filers last season, with the vast majority of those customers filing online.

InfoSpace will fund the acquisition through a combination of cash on hand and debt, and has secured a commitment for approximately $95 million of financing in connection with this transaction. Upon completion of the acquisition, 2nd Story Software, the operating company for the TaxACT business, will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of InfoSpace, and will continue operations in Cedar Rapids, Iowa as a standalone business unit led by the TaxACT management team.