SureFire Commerce Buys U.S. E-Retailing Pioneer

[Montreal, CANADA] – SureFire Commerce Inc. has closed its
acquisition of Stumpworld Systems of Boston, owner of the store-building software platform
Online Merchant, and the online shopping community
BuyItOnline.com, two e-commerce brands in the U.S.

“As a Canadian-based company, this acquisition represents an important and strategic transaction that allows us to build out our US presence and open the doors to online commerce for small- and medium-sized merchants in Canada,” said Rory Olson, president and chief executive officer of SureFire Commerce.

Olson reported, “We were successful in identifying a key U.S. asset with important proprietary technologies and brand recognition. We also negotiated a strong agreement on behalf of our shareholders, without having to expend any of our cash reserves.”

SureFire Commerce recently developed BuyItOnline.ca, modeled after the U.S. shopping portal, and signed an agreement with AOL Canada to build and manage AOLSHOPS, the AOL Shopping Channel at www.aol.ca, to be launched this fall.

Online Merchant is a store-building software solution. BuyItOnline.com is an online shopping community that offers merchants toll-free customer service, secure transaction processing, affiliate marketing and e-couponing programs, store access for merchants from their desktop, as well as order notification, billing and shipping support.

SureFire Commerce solutions include merchant enabling, transaction processing, hosting, as well as file and document management services. It is headquartered in Montreal, with offices in Ottawa and Boston.