MCK Comm. buying Dallas firm for $24 million
NEEDHAM – MCK Communications which sells systems that enable businesses to link telecommunicators and branch offices to phone and data networks is buying Digital Techniques, Inc. of Dallas for $24 million in cash, stock and assumed options. According to the Boston Globe, MCK’s objective in the purchase is to add to its engineering staff and gain access to new markets, principally in Texas. DTI develops systems that enhance private branch exchanges {PBXes} and products used at call centers. DTI’s 50 employees will be added to MCK’s 120.
NetScout buying NextPoint for $60 million
WESTFORD – NetScout Systems, Inc. announced that it planned to buy NextPoint Networks, also of Westford, for $60 million in cash and stock. NetScout develops software that permits companies to monitor response times of business transactions through their networks. Through this acquisition, NetScout will be able to offer Web monitoring services for e-business.
Seifert Systems Invests in Energy Efficiency to Strengthen Operations
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Furniture.com obtains $27 million in funding
Framingham (Bloomberg) — Furniture.com Inc., which sells home furnishings on the Internet, said it obtained commitments for $27 million of funding and that it withdrew its pending initial public offering. The company said it received financing commitments from a group of investors that includes The Munder NetNet Fund, CMGI @Ventures, Amerindo Investment Advisors, Arkaro Holding BV, Bessemer Venture Partners, RRE Ventures and Shad Run Investments. The Framingham, Massachusetts-based online retailer of lamps, tables, beds and other home items was seeking additional financing to fund its operations. On Jan. 27 it had filed for a sale of as much as $50 million of shares to the public. Furniture.com said it was withdrawing the IPO because of poor market conditions for Internet retailers’ shares. Underwriters were to have included Goldman, Sachs & Co., Salomon Smith Barney, William Blair & Co. and E*Offering. Furniture.com in early April fired 29 employees, or 11 percent of its workforce, to streamline operations and speed plans for turning a profit.
State bids go on-line
PROVIDENCE – Last week, the state of Rhode Island, for the first time, began accepting bids for general obligation bonds over the Internet. On Wednesday, the state accepted bids for $57,230,000 in general obligation bonds, allowing firms to also bid electronically through the BiDCOMP/PARITY system. Traditionally the state has accepted only sealed bids for state bonds. “We believe making the electronic bid option available will increase the universe of potential bidders for state bonds, which will enhance competition and ultimately result in a savings for taxpayers,” said General Treasurer Paul Tavares.
Be Free gains patent for shopping technology
MARLBORO, Mass. (Bloomberg) — Be Free Inc., which provides Internet-marketing services to online merchants, said it received a U.S. patent for technology that allows Web retailers to personalize shopping recommendations. Be Free said the technology, which it acquired through its purchase of closely held TriVida Corp. in February, allows Web merchants to offer customers faster, more accurate suggestions on what to buy at a lower cost than other software. Be Free will charge a $5,000 one-time fee and $5,000 a month, or 15 cents each time a customer responds to a promotion. Typically, similar software that offers customized shopping recommendations costs about $400,000, Chief Marketing Officer Tom Gerace said. Be Free, whose customers include America Online Inc. and Lycos Inc., helps online companies track the performance of their Web promotions.
Quick & Reilly to invest in Japanese broker e-Wing
NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — Quick & Reilly Group Inc. said it agreed to take a 24-percent stake in a Japanese online broker, making the discount brokerage arm of FleetBoston Financial Corp. the latest online broker to start a global expansion plan. Online brokers are battling to gain market share in Asia and Europe, as investors in those regions become more interested in investing and regulators make it easier for them to trade online. Last October, the Japanese government deregulated that country’s commission schedule. Quick & Reilly said it paid an undisclosed amount to gain a 24-percent stake in e-Wing, a 10-week-old online brokerage with 14,000 accounts and average daily volume of 2,700 trades a day. Sanwa Bank Ltd. and Tsubasa Securities Co. are also partners in e- Wing.
GTech buyback
WEST GREENWICH — Gtech Holdings Corp., the biggest vendor to government lotteries, said it will buy back up to $100 million of its own stock, which has fallen about 40 percent since March 1998. The buyback would be about 13 percent of the company’s stock. The new stock repurchase program, authorized through June 16, replaced a previous buyback that had about $16.2 million remaining. That repurchase program would have ended this month. Gtech said it believes its own stock is a good investment opportunity at current prices. The shares have fallen as the growth of the international lottery business has slowed over the last two years.
