Broadbase Software Inc. acquired ServiceSoft Inc., a provider of software that allows users to manage customer services over the Internet, creating what company officials describe as the industry’s first integrated eCRM (electronic customer relationship management) set of analytic and operational solutions.
With this deal, worth about US$529 million in stock, Broadbase said it could now offer a “closed-loop platform” for intelligent customer interactions across all functions including sales, marketing, and services.
The combined company will have more than 400 e-business customers around the world in several segments, including financial services, e-commerce, retail, and telecommunications, according to spokespeople for both companies.
“It’s becoming clear that customers doing business on the Web want the option of intelligent services on the Web. We think this deal gives them, for the first time, a single integrated closed solution that closes the loop of inbound and outbound customer interactions,” said Massood Zarrabian, ServiceSoft’s CEO
“Solutions like those from Broadbase and ServiceSoft are important for providing the analytic and operational infrastructure that unites inbound and outbound transactions on the terms of the customer,” said Henry Morris, research vice-president for data warehousing applications at International Data Corp., based in Framingham, Mass.
According to the terms of the deal, Menlo Park, Calif.-based Broadbase will issue, in exchange for all securities of Natick, Mass.-based ServiceSoft, a combination of 35.1 million shares of its common stock along with options and warrants to purchase common stock that represents about 36.5 per cent of the company
The deal is expected to be completed by mid-December.