CitySearch Gets $20 Million in Financing

Pasadena-based CitySearch, a local online information service, said it has secured $20 million in financing from nine media corporations, bringing to $30 million its total venture capital. The new money will allow the company, which has services in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., Pasadena, San Francisco and New York, to launch services by midyear in Austin, Texas, Nashville and Salt Lake City, and by year’s end in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia. Investors include Compaq Computer Corp., Comcast Corp., Goldman, Sachs & Co., AT&T; Ventures, the Toronto Star, Far West Capital Management, EnCompass Group and Simmons New Media. Last year, AT&T; Ventures and Goldman Sachs were among those investing $10 million. The company’s online service carries original community news and information supplied by its own editorial staff and local media partnerships. Its main competitors, America Online and Yahoo, have similar services that rely on electronic links to outside sites.