Yelp, the giant and controversial online restaurant (and other businesses) ratings site/app was flying high a minute ago — during the metaphorical appetizer. But then the entree came and it was a dud. Turns out Yelp only looked like a Wall Street darling because it was a takeover target. The minute Yelp let it be known it wasn’t for sale — that it wanted to remain independent for now — the spice came off the dish.
Yelp stock was halted after it fell nearly 13% on Thursday. Dessert will very likely include Yelp being for sale again. And Wall Street will no doubt once again think that is delicious. The usual suspects — Google, Amazon, Apple, et al — are thought to be the likely gourmands bellying up to the Yelp table.
