We broke it, and Paid Content confirmed today that IAC’s black targeted search engine Rushmore Drive will officially close its doors this week Friday. The closure will affect 17 employees, and according to an IAC spokesperson was due in “part of their continued effort to rationalize the IAC emerging business.” See the full quote below:

An IAC spokeswoman said RushmoreDrive.com will be closing Friday affecting 17 employees, saying this the move “part of our continued effort to rationalize the IAC emerging businesses.” As for the potential sale Taylor mentioned, no comment but she did say the company had exhausted possibilities. According to April comScore (NSDQ: SCOR) numbers, the site had 439,000 uniques; internal tracking is higher (as is usually the case), around 600,000.

Still no confirmation on the defunct sale of Rushmore Drive, but it does look like there’s no hope for renegotiations. We will keep you posted.