E-commerce services company Digital River Inc. continued its acquisition spree Friday, announcing an agreement to buy online software store turned e-commerce software and services company Beyond.com Corp.
Beyond.com filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today as part of the deal.
Minneapolis-based Digital River will acquire all of the assets and customer contracts related to Beyond.coms eStores and Government Systems Group businesses in exchange for $3.5 million in cash and $7.5 million in Digital River common stock. The deal is subject to certain escrow and sale restrictions and certain resale registration rights, company officials said.
The agreement also provides Beyond.com an earn-out for an additional $1.5 million in Digital River common stock, and provides for purchase price reductions in certain events. Further terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The deal is subject to bankruptcy court approval.
Beyond.com President and CEO Ron Smith said in a statement that his company selected Digital River as its suitor because of its e-commerce experience, customer service record and financial strength.
“This agreement should ensure that our eStore and government clients will continue to receive high-quality technology and services from a truly industry-leading company,” said Smith, in Santa Clara, Calif.
Digital River CEO Joel Ronning promised, in a statement, to provide Beyond.com customers with an “exceptional level of service.”
Digital River is staking out a leadership position in hosted e-commerce services by consolidating the rest of the market. The company earlier this month acquired the FreeMerchant.com subscriber base from Network Commerce Inc. Other recent acquisitions include Orbit Commerce Inc. and RegSoft.com Inc. last October.