New York City-based 24/7 Media Inc. is
acquiring Sunnyvale, CA-based Sift Inc., a provider of e-mail-based direct
marketing services, in a $22 million stock-for-stock deal.
Sift provides a suite of services for Internet-enabled, database-driven e-mail
marketing, including an e-mail distribution service bureau, list management
services and a
service that appends e-mail addresses to existing customer database lists.
Sift manages and rents opt-in e-mail databases containing more than three
million e-mail addresses segmented by demographic, lifestyle, and avocational
and vocational interest
criteria.
The combined capabilities of the two companies will enable 24/7 Media and Sift
to offer enhanced services to 24/7 Media’s advertising and Web publisher
clients as well as to Sift’s e-mail service clients. Through new services to
be introduced in the next few weeks, 24/7 Media will add customer relationship
management programs
(acquisition and retention) as a complement to its list of beyond-the-banner
online marketing offerings: sponsorships, merchant programs and syndicated
content. Advertising clients will be able to e-mail product and service
information to prospects and existing clients either by renting 24/7 Media’s
opt-in e-mail lists, or by providing their own customer databases.
“The synergies of this deal are multi-faceted, and Sift was the only company
we found that demonstrated success in managing a full-service approach to e-
mail direct marketing services,” said David J. Moore, CEO at 24/7 Media. “This
acquisition is another execution of our strategy to increase the value of
online advertising by offering
advertisers comprehensive interactive marketing packages.”
Sift will become a subsidiary of 24/7 Media Inc. and its management team will
become part of 24/7 Media’s sales and marketing efforts, led by Jay Friesel,
executive vice president, sales and marketing. The Sift management team
includes co-founders Jack Zoken, CEO, and Jeff Wilkins, president.