Commerce One (Nasdaq: CMRC) announced a definitive agreement to acquire Austin, TX-based Exterprise late Tuesday, picking up the e-market platform developer for more than $70 million.

Exterprise's technologies, in use by a number of big plays like 3M and Dell, specialize in quick deployment solutions for companies looking to build an online marketplace, including a development environment that enables e-marketplace operators, systems integrators and software vendors to develop tailored applications that link business processes between multiple trading partners.

Commerce One's CEO, Mark Hoffman, said Exterprise's host of marketplace deployment technologies will be integrated into One's MarketSite operating environment.

"Exterprise enables a whole new type of application, based at the e-marketplace, that powers inter-company processes and offers new levels of collaboration between multiple trading partners," said Hoffman. "Our customers tell us that collaborative e-marketplace applications designed for specific companies, industries or regions will drive the next wave of e-marketplace adoption, so we believe this acquisition will give us the ability to extend our leadership of the e-marketplace category."

Hoffman said Commerce One expects to exchange no more than 7.5 million shares of its common stock for all outstanding shares of Exterprise, valuing the transaction at no more than $78 million. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2001, with complete integration of the Exterprise development platform into MarketSite scheduled for the first quarter of 2002.

The acquisition comes just weeks after Hoffman admitted that, despite strong sales numbers, Commerce One may not meet analyst's estimates for Q1. His statements came days after big competitor in the sector, Oracle, warned in February that it would not meet its first-quarter expectations because of the effects of the slowing U.S economy.