NetObjects (Nasdaq: NETO) is getting out of big business and focusing on little ones. The Redwood City, Calif.-based company, which develops business software for building and maintaining Web sites, officially sold its enterprise division to London-based MERANT (Nasdaq: MRNT) for $18 million today.
Officials at NetObjects says the company will use the cash from the sale for operating capital as the company seeks to focus on the small-business market.
“With the close of this transaction, we have cleared the way to execute on our vision,” says Samir Arora, CEO of NetObjects. We have great momentum in the Web solutions and online services for the small business market that we will now be empowered to leverage to an even greater degree.”
The NetObjects enterprise division includes both NetObjects Collage and NetObjects Authoring Server, as well as professional services for training and supporting these two products. NetObjects Collage is a content platform for creating, managing, and deploying business Web applications, such as intranets, extranets, and eCommerce services. NetObjects Authoring Server is used for building corporate Web sites.
With the sale, NetObjects will put its emphasis on two applications: NetObjects Fusion and NetObjects Matrix. Fusion is a Web site creation tool that helps businesses build and manage Web sites, while Matrix is a platform for deploying Web applications and online services that are used by service providers to assist small-business customers in building an online presence.
NetObjects, which went public last year but has yet to turn a profit, recently announced it had licensed more than 10 million copies of Fusion.