Excite, Inc. announced today it will
acquire online advertising services firm MatchLogic, Inc. for 3.2 million
shares of Excite stock valued at $89 million.
Excite said the stock swap deal is aimed at diversifying its advertising
revenue streams by adding advanced advertising campaign management services
to its offerings.
The Internet media company expects the acquisition to “add
significant new revenue” this year. MatchLogic, which will operate as an
independent subsidiary of Excite, generated over $4 million in revenues in
1997.
Beginning in March, Excite plans to start using MatchLogic to provide
advertising services, which will include ad measurement and targeting
solutions, on Excite and on its WebCrawler brands. MatchLogic will
continue to provide campaign management services to Internet agencies and
its advertising clients.
“Whether it’s managing Excite’s advertising inventory or independently
offering campaign management solutions to other clients, our mission
remains the same,” said Pete Estler, president and CEO of MatchLogic, in a
statement.
“We help online advertisers deliver the right ad, to the right person, with
the right offer, at the right time, and to know within seconds whether the
ad was effective. The combined leverage of this merger will provide the
best relationship management services, with the combined highest reach,
across the Internet.”
