Excite@Home has acquired e-commerce software company iMall Inc for around $425m worth of stock. And, in a related deal, Excite@Home has struck a deal with First Data Corp subsidiary First Data Merchant Services to help would-be e-commerce companies get their online storefronts up and running as quickly as possible. First Data already owns 11% of iMall. The three-way relationship is intended to bolster the Excite Shopping Service. Excite@Home and First Data hope to present potential web merchants with a technological fait accompli: a single package that includes web site development, online shopping carts, a merchant account, sales tax and shipping calculations, secure payment processing, traffic-building and promotions.
Each shareholder in iMall will receive 0.46 shares in Excite@Home for every share of iMall common stock. Subject to the customary conditions, the transaction should close in the fourth quarter 1999. As part of the agreement, First Data, iMall CEO Richard Rosenblatt and other iMall shareholders who together account for 40% of the outstanding shares in the company, have agreed to vote in favor of the transaction. Once the merger is complete, iMall will operate as an independent subsidiary of Excite@Home.
