Amazon Buys Two Internet Companies
-- 8/10/98
In two separate stock deals valued at approximately $280 million, Amazon.com has acquired PlanetAll and Junglee Corp., two privately held Internet companies. The two purchases are seen by analysts as way for Amazon to increase its stature as a major e-commerce site.The larger of the two deals involves Junglee, which Amazon will acquire for 1.6 million shares of stock. Junglee is currently based in Sunnyvale, Calif., but is expected to move its operations to Amazon's Seattle headquarters. The company is best known for its software that allows shoppers to search for products that are sold over the Internet, and its Junglee Shopping Guide contains 15 million items. Its services are offered on various Internet sites, including Yahoo! Amazon will issue 800,000 shares to cover the costs of its purchase of PlanetAll. The company, which will remain based in Cambridge, Mass., provides a Web-based address book, calendar and reminder service. It currently has 1.5 million members, and Amazon plans to use the service to promote its products as gifts for friends and relatives. In addition, PR Newswire, the corporate news release Web site, and Amazon.com have created an online bookstore, the PRN Bookstore, on PRN's website. Visitors to the site need only click to access book selections tailored for PRN's customers. Amazon.com will handle the secure online ordering, customer service and shipping. Back To News---> |
