Rare Medium to Buy Hype!

Rare Medium Inc. signed a letter of intent to acquire Hype! Inc., a Canadian Internet marketing and communications firms. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Established in 1994, Hype! Inc. has created Web sites or intranets for Players Racing Team, Dun & Bradstreet Canada, William M. Mercer Ltd., Motorola Information Systems Group (Canada), and Johnson & Johnson Medical Products.

Hype! Inc. creates e-commerce and branding solutions for a variety of clients that fuse Web-to-legacy connectivity, database design, and innovative, interactive elements.

Rare Medium recently completed two other acquisitions: I/O 360 Digital Design Inc., a design company, and DigitalFacades Inc., a growing Los Angeles-based company.

“Hype! adds to our overall strengths as an enabler of direct market interaction and gives us an immediate and valuable leadership position in the Canadian market,” said Glenn S. Meyers, president and chief executive officer of Rare Medium. With this transaction, Rare Medium would have approximately 150 professionals and offices in New York, LA, Phoenix, Atlanta and Toronto.

“Many companies were knocking at our door,” said Joey Caturay, CTO of Hype! Inc. “We chose Rare Medium because their vision of our industry was the most clairvoyant, and they are extremely focused on their business plan.”