Content infrastructure provider YellowBrix, Inc., has entered into an asset purchase agreement with iSyndicate, Inc., which builds Internet syndication infrastructure and application solutions. Existing investors led by Soros-backed Quantum Industrial Partners have agreed to finance the cash portion of the acquisition as well as capitalize the combined company’s long-term business plan. Terms of the deal were nor disclosed.
iSyndicate’s services should complement the Alexandria, Va.-based YellowBrix’s product set, making the combined company the dominant provider of information solutions and contextual content services with more than 400 customers, over 300,000 affiliates and more than 100 strategic alliances and technology partnerships.
The San Francisco-based iSyndicate’s Intelligent Syndication Network allows enterprise customers to collect, distribute and manage digital information among a set of internal or external audiences. It’s application component allows customers to repurpose, distribute and integrate Web applications, like e-mail, without IT time. When integrated with YellowBrix ArchiText products, customers can create and distribute, across all platforms, contextually related packages of information relevant to a user’s interests.
Customers can also choose between hosting the content on their site or on a YellowBrix server.
Customers who have integrated YellowBrix into their offerings include KPMG Consulting, America Online, and Brown and Williamson. iSyndicate currently serves Citibank, and Sun Microsystems, among others. Plans are in place to maintain the YellowBrix and iSyndicate product lines and to begin to offer integrated services in the near future.
“This deal is a natural move for both companies, as we continue to scale to meet the growing needs of the market place,” said Joel Maske, chief executive officer of iSyndicate. “YellowBrix’s sophisticated technology takes our content services to new levels — giving our clients the information they need when they need it — and this merger brings to the table our mutual strengths: innovation, dedication to customer service and enterprise-ready solutions to fit any company’s need for timely, relevant information and web-based applications. This makes us the leading provider of content infrastructure services today.”
YellowBrix’ content infrastructure services include categorized content creation and delivery, contextual content profiling and news aggregation, with additional features such as contextual commerce and advanced personalization. YellowBrix services use this technology to classify information for delivery to customers’ users through their Web pages, e-mail and wireless devices.
“During the last year, we achieved a tenfold increase in our customer base. This merger solidifies our position as the industry leader with technology that sets the standard for relevant business content, whether it’s external content delivered by a third party, or internal, proprietary data,” said YellowBrix CEO, Randy Lampert. “We selected iSyndicate for their reputation as the most trusted name in news syndication and content services, and we look forward to working with them to build a powerhouse content infrastructure company. Our investors’ willingness to finance this transaction reaffirms their support for our plans and vision.”
