Beth Cox

Just two days after reporting an 11 percent sequential revenue increase for the second quarter, e-business software provider Marimba Inc. scored a giant-sized customer win when consumer goods titan Procter & Gamble signed on to use some of Marimba’s apps as a 70-country global solution. Mountain View, Calif.-based Marimba said P&G will use its Server […]

Auction marketplace operation eWanted is acquiring London-based Fleetwood Owen, an entertainment memorabilia site that was co-founded by Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood. Santa Clara, Calif.-based eWanted said the acquisition allows the company to connect entertainment buyers and sellers on a global scale. Financial terms were not disclosed. Fleetwood Owen was co-founded by Ted Owen, said […]

Just as investors were expecting a pretty standard second-quarter announcement from Amazon.com, the innovative online retailer came out with a doozy. Amazon.com on Monday disclosed America Online is making a $100 million equity investment in the giant online retailer and said the two companies will team up to develop and offer “an enhanced online shopping […]

Specialty retailer Gap Inc. signed a deal to use the Oracle E-Business Suite to enhance business operations via the Internet at its Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy divisions. San Francisco-based Gap Inc. has licensed Oracle Financials and Purchasing, Oracle iProcurement, Oracle Product Development Exchange and several other modules of the suite, which also offers […]

Reaching out to touch AT&T Wireless users, Amazon.com added another mobile phone operation to its stable of partners and said the agreement includes Amazon.com’s patented 1-Click Technology for ordering, recommendations, customer reviews and product searches. Seattle-based Amazon said the deal gives all AT&T Digital PocketNet customers access to Amazon’s wireless e-commerce Web site via their […]

Struggling B2B software maker Ariba Inc. suffered a double whammy today, reporting a wider loss for the third quarter and the no-explanations departure of its CEO, who had held the post for only one quarter. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company posted a pro forma loss of $26.1 million on higher revenues of $85.3 million. The loss […]

Chicago-based Orbitz, the new online travel site backed by a consortium of airlines, inked a co-marketing deal with discount travel site Hotwire that gives Orbitz users access to Hotwire’s Hot-Fares and Hot-Rates that are said to be below published prices. Hotwire customers who want to pick precise flight times and choose from multiple carriers and […]

Minneapolis-based e-commerce outsourcing company Digital River Inc. launched an “E-Rescue Program” for online operations faced with service providers and/or hosting companies that are failing or have already gone out of business. “An increasing number of e-commerce service providers are shutting down operations or battling layoffs, revenue shortfalls, slowing sales and growing debt,” said Joel Ronning, […]

You need a scorecard to keep up with all the shipping policy changes at Amazon.com these days. In today’s action, the e-tailing giant rolled out what it calls “faster and more affordable shipping options for non-U.S. customers.” Within the past few weeks, Amazon had launched a free shipping offer for folks who buy two or […]

Shares in Chicago-based Internet grocer Peapod Inc., based in Chicago, were soaring today after Dutch supermarket company Koninklijke Ahold NV, which has a 58 percent stake, said it will acquire the remaining 42 percent of the company’s shares for $35 million. Peapod was up 86 cents or almost 69 percent in midday trading to $2.11. […]

Striking a complex, mega-million dollar deal with Microsoft Corp., Barry Diller’s USA Networks Inc. will acquire a controlling interest in travel site Expedia as part of the launch of a Travel Group that will include a new cable TV channel. USA Networks also is acquiring National Leisure Group Inc. (NLG), a provider of private label […]

Exactly as predicted by its CEO, Homestore.com Inc. said the Justice Department has advised the company that “no enforcement action is necessary” regarding its acquisition of Cendant Corp.’s Move.com last February. At the time of the $761 million all-stock acquisition, Homestore, which also operates REALTOR.com, HomeBuilder.com, SpringStreet.com and HomeFair.com, said the acquisition would create “the […]