Ariba is looking to take a bigger bite out of the Internet market with its acquisition Thursday of privately held Tradex Technologies in a $1.86 billion stock-swap deal.
Tradex, which provides an online business-to-business (B2B) trading platform, will enhance Ariba's B2B electronic-commerce efforts with its market leadership, experience, and customer base, said Keith Krach, chairman and CEO of Ariba.
"In the digital marketplace, they're the leader" Krach said of Ariba's acquisition, during a teleconference Thursday. "These resources give Ariba instant resources and respectability in the Net marketplace. Our combined assets make us a powerhouse in B2B e-commerce."
Ariba will issue shares worth $1.86 billion, based on Tuesday's closing price, to Tradex stockholders, which represents approximately 13 percent of the fully diluted equity value of Ariba on a pro forma basis. Ariba shares closed Tuesday at $224 on Nasdaq, according to Ariba officials.
The Tradex acquisition will add more than 185 Tradex employees to Ariba, officials said.
Ariba has not stood still in its effort to build a strong Internet marketplace platform. The agreement to acquire Tradex comes on the heels of Ariba's decision last month to purchase Trading Dynamics, an Internet trading applications provider. Krach said product integration between the companies will occur, and eventually, plans call for Ariba to create new names for Tradex and Trading Dynamics products.
Officials for Ariba and Tradex said the deal will be closed in the second quarter of 2000.
Ariba Inc., in Mountain View, Calif., is at www.ariba.com. Tradex Technologies Inc., in Atlanta, is at www.tradex.com.
This story from Infoworld.com Copyright © 1999 InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.
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