In an effort to beef up its consulting offerings, USWeb/CKS Friday
acquired business-to-business commerce strategists eMitchell Madison Group.
USWeb/CKS will issue up to 14.4 million shares for MMG over the next two years, valuing the deal at just over $300 million based on Thursday’s market close.
“We’ve done an excellent job growing our strategy organization over the
last six months, but this move catapults USWeb/CKS forward,” said Robert
Shaw, CEO of USWeb/CKS.
USWeb/CKS expects the acquisition to redefine the Internet professional
services market and “set new standards for transforming businesses in the
digital economy.”
“Fancy front-ends, supply chain connectivity and back-end systems
integration, won’t be enough to win,” said Tom Steiner, co-founder and
managing partner of Mitchell Madison Group.
“Businesses in the new economy need to be able to do more than reduce
costs, improve efficiencies, differentiate themselves and add new channels.
They need to fundamentally change company and industry structure and create
entirely new business models.”
MMG services include global payment systems and e-commerce, sourcing and
supply chain transformation, electronic trading networks and settlement
systems and risk management.
The acquisition, already approved by both company boards, is expected to be completed in the fall.
