VerticalNet Inc, which operates a portfolio of online business- to-business vertical trading communities, has agreed to acquire NECX Exchange LLC, a web-based marketplace for the electronics industry. Terms of the deal call for Berkeley, California-based VerticalNet to hand over $10m in cash and issue stock worth roughly $95m, in addition to the assumption of unspecified debt and other liabilities. The transaction is expected to close by year-end, the companies said.
Privately-held NECX, based in Peabody, Massachusetts, deals in the buying and selling semiconductors, electronic components, computer products and networking equipment. It booked 1998 revenues of $350m and gross profit of $37m. VerticalNet says the acquisition creates the internet’s first large-scale trading community for engineers and purchasing professionals in the electronics and high tech markets, with 18,000 trading partners globally and access to an online inventory of more than three million products.
VerticalNet shares rose $1.6875 Wednesday to close at $102.125. The company’s stock has risen nearly 540% since its initial public offering in February, when it sold its shares at $16 and saw them rise more than 180% in their first day of trading. The subsequent rise in market capitalization to more than $3.6bn has given the company ample currency for acquisitions.
