USWeb Corp. agreed to buy
CKS Group Inc. for $21.66 a share, or $344.4
million in stock, in a move aimed at broadening its expertise in multimedia marketing.
USWeb will exchange 1.5 shares for each of CKS Group’s 15.9 million diluted
shares outstanding. The new company will change its name to Reinvent
Communications Inc.
The value of the deal amounts to roughly $216 million, based on 15.1 million
CKS shares outstanding at May 31, the most recent date for which figures
were available.
USWeb, whose shares almost doubled since its initial public offering in
December, made dozens of acquisitions to offer more services to companies
looking to use the Web to improve their businesses, according to Bloomberg News.
“It will make USWeb a juggernaut in the Web services space,” First Albany
Corp. analyst Ullas Naik told Bloomberg.
Cupertino, CA-based CKS closed at $15.25, up $1.12, while USWeb closed at
$12.31, down $2.12.
CKS Group Chairman Mark Kvamme will become chairman of Reinvent and USWeb
Chairman Joe Firmage will be chief executive.
USWeb said it expected to complete the acquisition in late 1998, adding that
the deal would be accounted for as a pooling of interests.
“Reinvent will be positioned to leverage the dramatic impact the Internet and
other high-velocity communication systems are having on companies and markets
throughout the world,” the company said.
“Our clients face increasingly complex IT (information technology) challenges
and commoditization of their products and services,” said Kvamme. “Reinvent will be a single partner with the breadth of capabilities and depth of knowledge to tackle these challenges.”
“Reinvent will marshal over 1,800 professionals worldwide to deliver. . .
technology and marketing communications services,” Firmage said in a
statement.
