Deal of the Day: Amazon scoops up Woot for $110 million

Woot said Wednesday that it had been acquired by Amazon, although it provided few details on what exactly will become of the online deal site other than it would become an independent subsidiary much like the online retailer's other acquisitions, Zappos and Audible.

Sources told technology blog TechCrunch that the sale price was in the neighborhood of $110 million in cash. In an e-mail to his employees, CEO Matt Rutledge seemed to suggest that not much would change as a result of the new owners.

"Amazon is interested in us because they recognize the value of our people, our brand ... they don't want to start changing things now," he wrote. "They're not looking to have their folks come in and run Woot unless we ask them to."

Online deal seekers have been flocking to Woot's front page since 2004. The concept is simple: a single product is featured on the front page for purchase beginning at midnight central time at a discounted price, and stays there until it is sold out. Each day, the product refreshes.

For example, today's deal is a brand new current generation 8GB iPod nano. While at an Apple store these would cost $149, Woot is selling them for $99. Similar savings can be found on other items found on Woot, but the key is to act fast before they're gone.

The concept is called social shopping, which allows users to not only purchase the item, but talk about it in the company's forums afterwards. Rutledge was clear to stress that facet of Woot's offering would not change.

In fact, Amazon customers may not even notice that the company has bought Woot: a spokesperson for the retailer seemed to suggest Amazon would not add Woot's daily deal to its own pages.

Terms of the acquisition were also not disclosed.