infoUSA to Acquire ClickAction

Database software provider infoUSA, Tuesday signed an agreement to acquire email marketer ClickAction for $4.1 million in cash.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based ClickAction specializes in email marketing automation products and services and offers a hosted ASP solution, ClickAction EMA (email marketing automation), as well as an in-house Enterprise solution, ClickAction EMA Enterprise for BEA.

The deal would give Omaha, Neb.-based infoUSA said it would use ClickAction’s email client base for marketing purposes. The technology is expected to be available to infoUSA’s nearly 4 million clients.

“This acquisition will perfectly complement infoUSA’s growing platform in email marketing and email database management,” said infoUSA chairman and CEO Vin Gupta.

The deal is also a boon to infoUSA based on ClickAction’s recent contracts including a new acquisition services contract with a leading advocacy organization to provide over $1.5 million of subscriber acquisition services.

The agreement, signed in early September, provides for acquisition and related services to be delivered by the end of 2002.

ClickAction’s Board of Directors unanimously approved the transaction and recommended it to stockholders. If it meets with regulatory favor, the deal should close by the end of the year.

“This acquisition will allow us to continue a high level of client service while significantly expanding our customer retention and acquisition services to over 4 million clients,” said ClickAction president and CEO George Grant. “infoUSA and ClickAction share a primary objective of ensuring that all clients optimize their return on their online marketing investments and I am confident that this will continue to be our primary objective for the future.”