AutoWeb.com Buys More Horsepower

More cars online: Santa Clara-based AutoWeb.com, which is Autobytel’s rival as the only other publicly held independent online car referral company, last week said it has agreed to acquire Automotive Information Center, which compiles and markets data about cars and builds software to analyze the numbers.

The deal, for $20 million in cash and stock, highlights the recognition by e-commerce companies that the best way to get unique content for a site, and attract more visitors as a result, is to buy it, not license it.

“As things heat up and people get more focused on where they need to be in the next couple of years, you will see more of these acquisitions, whether it’s for content or technology,” said Dean DeBiase, chief executive of AutoWeb.com.

Last July, Autobytel.com made a similar acquisition--the Chilton series of auto-repair manuals for $17.5 million from W.G. Nichols of West Chester, Pa.