Network Commerce Announces Completion of Ubarter.com Acquisition
Company Extends Its Market Leadership in Business-to-Business Commerce
SEATTLE, June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Network Commerce Inc. (Nasdaq: NWKC), a leading provider of technology infrastructure, services and networks for businesses, merchants, Internet sites, and wireless networks, today announced it has completed its acquisition of Ubarter.com, a Seattle-based business-to-business barter e-commerce company.
Founded in 1996, Ubarter.com is an online forum that allows businesses to buy and sell products and services without the use of cash. The company manages and facilitates the transaction process for online businesses, brick and mortar businesses, merchants, and Internet sites seeking to generate new sales and conserve cash flow through online business-to-business bartering.
"Through our existing Network Commerce customer base of over 700,000 businesses and merchants, we expect to substantially grow the Ubarter.com barter exchange over the next 12 months," said Dwayne Walker, chairman and chief executive officer of Network Commerce Inc. "We plan to extend barter services across our business-to-business properties, increasing revenue by increasing the number of transactions conducted and offering our customers a new way to conduct commerce online."
Network Commerce will receive a five to ten percent cash transaction fee every time a Ubarter.com member buys or sells an item. Over the last 90 days, Ubarter.com members have conducted over $10 million in trading. For Ubarter.com, fees collected per member are up 47 percent over the past six months, and the number of items available on the Web site is up 136 percent over the same time period.
"The acquisition will further add additional members, inventory and transactions to the Ubarter.com system and will introduce thousands of new businesses and merchants to our online trading forum," said Liad Meidar, chief executive officer of Ubarter.com. "Not only will our current customers have access to the full range of services offered by Network Commerce, but this acquisition exponentially increases the number of potential Ubarter.com partners."
The acquisition will expand the Network Commerce Business Network, which now includes b2bNow.com, a global business-to-business portal featuring over 610,000 businesses in 260 international markets; FreeMerchant.com, an e-commerce technology and service provider offering e-commerce products and services to over 65,000 small and medium size businesses; and Ubarter.com, a business-to-business barter exchange. The Network Commerce Business Network also includes over 2,500 affiliated sites.
Ubarter.com will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Network Commerce Inc. and will continue to be based in Seattle. |
