Alliance Data Pays $435M for Abacus

Credit-card payment processor Alliance Data Systems
said its Epsilon marketing unit will pay $435 million for retail data
services company Abacus, a privately held division of DoubleClick.

The deal
gives Alliance access to over 1,500 retailers, including Patagonia,
Brookstone and Sur La Table.

In a statement, Alliance said Abacus maintains a database of more than 5
billion consumer and 1.2 billion business-to-business transactions. Abacus customers
contribute data in exchange for access enabling companies to mount marketing
campaigns based on consumer buying habits.

Alliance said the acquisition will boost Epsilon’s retail customers while
allowing Abacus services to be sold to non-retail clients. As part of the
agreement, Abacus’ 525 employees, including senior management, will be
integrated into Epsilon. Abacus services will also be sold under the Epsilon
brand.

DoubleClick acquired Abucus in 1999 for $1 billion in stock.

This buyout is the most recent sell-off of DoubleClick assets to Epsilon. In
April, Epsilon completed a $90 million purchase of the online advertising
firm’s e-mail unit. DoubleClick itself last year was acquired for $1.1
billion by Hellman & Friedman, a San Francisco, Calif.-based private equity
firm.

The same year as DoubleClick’s acquisition, Epsilon paid $120 million for
Bigfoot Interactive.

The acquisition of Abacus enhances the company’s marketing efforts and
increases its ability to sell across sectors, Mike Parks, Alliance Data’s
chairman and CEO, said in a statement.