Web-based calendaring portal When.com enjoyed just a quarter of independent life and has now been swallowed up by America Online Inc in an all stock transaction, the details of which are not being revealed beyond the fact that it has already closed. The acquisition had the look of inevitability about it when When.com signed a deal with Netscape Communications Corp to provide calendar services and event listings for its Contact section on its Netcaster portal.
AOL, which says it has not had any calendaring technology until now, says it will continue to develop When.com’s technology and will launch a co-branded version later this summer. However, AOL was at pains to point out that When’s few hundred thousand subscribers – it would not give an exact number – would not notice any difference in the services they have been using up until now. When.com also has a database of about 750,000 event listings at any one time.
AOL will use the technology across all its properties, both on the web and its proprietary online service, including a stand- alone calendaring tool that it plans to develop. AOL is especially keen on When’s group calendars that enable members of organizations to share calendars across groups.
When.com was established to offer its technology mainly on an OEM basis – the Switzerland of calendars as a spokesperson put it back in January – but also established its own, albeit modest portal. It began offering a beta in November 1998 and the full version was launched in January (01/13/99). About 40 employees of Redwood City-based When.com will join AOL.
