Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) Hired for IAC IPO

In a contradictory action, privately held auto interiors business, International Automotive Components Group, has reportedly sought out buyers for its business at the same time they hired Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) to start working on an IPO on its behalf.

IAC is owned by billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, whose representatives have approched several auto parts makers to measure what type of interest they may have in acquiring the company.

People not wanting to be identified because they weren't authorized to speak on the matter, said IAC could generate over four times its estimated 2011 earnings before EBITDA.

The company is thought to be worth from between about $1.5 billion and $2 billion, but more toward the lower end.

IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ:IACI) CPC Rates, Toolbar Driving Business

Wedbush likes what they see with IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ:IACI), especially their ability to raise CPC rates and what appears to be the strong performance of their Ask's Toolbar business.

They're increasing their full year 2011 revenue estimate from $1.77 billion to $1.78 billion, and their EPS estimate from $1.41 to $1.44.

Wedbush is maintaining their "Outperform" rating on IAC/InterActiveCorp, which closed Wednesday at $29.97, down $0.22, or 0.73 percent. They raised their price target on them from $32 to $33.

Liberty (Nasdaq:LINTA), IAC (Nasdaq:IACI) Divorce Good for Both Says Barclays (NYSE:BCS

After the announced divestiture of Class B shares by Liberty (Nasdaq:LINTA) in IAC (Nasdaq:IACI), Barclays (NYSE:BCS) said they see it as a benefit for both companies.

Barclays said, "IAC and Liberty Media announced this morning that Liberty has exchanged its remaining 12.8 million Class B shares of IAC for $220 million in cash and IAC's operating businesses Evite and Gifts.com in a tax-free transaction. We view the deal as a positive resolution for both companies as it effectively amounts to a large share repurchase for IAC and is another step toward simplifying Liberty ahead of its split. We believe this could also set the stage for a similar transaction between Liberty and Expedia, though that would likely be much more complicated given the higher value of Liberty's stake in Expedia (~$1.9 billion) and the challenges in determining which assets could make a similar deal tax-free."

Liberty closed Friday at $15.95, up by $0.04, or 0.25 percent. IAC closed at $30.23, gaining $0.88, or 3.00 percent.