The tightrope walk begins

IAC has taken a minority stake in The HealthCentral Network, which owns and operates 30 sites devoted to specific illnesses.

Latching onto these sites will give IAC leverage in search engine results as more people seek health information online.

At the same time, IAC's Barry Diller is in the sights of Liberty Media CEO John C. Malone. Malone is fighting to oust Diller.

Diller's recent decision to split IAC's web properties will diminish Liberty Media's level of shareholder control.