E-commerce solutions provider Commerce One Inc. Tuesday acquired AppNet Inc. in a stock deal worth about $1.3 billion based.
AppNet Inc. provides a wide array of professional services over the Internet. Commerce One said the acquisition will enhance its ability to deliver e-commerce services to its customers and accelerate implementation of its business-to-business exchanges worldwide.
The acquisition will be structured as a tax-free exchange and will be accounted as a purchase transaction. Commerce One will issue .8 shares for each outstanding share of AppNet and will assume all outstanding stock options and other rights to acquire AppNet Common Stock.
Commerce One said AppNet will complement its current service offerings, increase available senior product management, and open the door for AppNet’s professionals to provide the company with strategic consulting expertise, interactive marketing services, Web design, and e-business implementation expertise. Commerce One also said the deal will help it accelerate the rollout of business-to-business exchanges.
Commerce One has more than 100 trading exchange customers who are demanding implementation and consulting services to execute rapidly on their business models,” Commerce One Chairman Mark Hoffman said in a statement. “With the acquisition of AppNet, we are ideally positioned, in combination with our key consulting partners, to deliver these capabilities.”
The combined companies would have 44 offices in 18 countries around the world.
The deal requires the approval of AppNet stockholders.
AppNet would complement Commerce One’s current service offerings and in addion would provide strategic consulting expertise, interactive marketing services, Web design, and e-business implementation expertise. The combined companies would have 44 offices in 18 countries around the world. The total number of employees would equal more than 2,300, Commerce One said.
The announcement came a day after AppNet Inc. had said it was in merger talks with Commerce One — and after a statement proclaiming a definitive merger agreement was released by accident.
Reuters contributed to this report.
