Ariba to acquire SupplierMarket.com in stock deal

Ariba said today it signed an agreement to buy online marketplace SupplierMarket.com in a deal worth about $581 million.

Ariba will issue 6.3 million shares of stock in exchange for the company. Shares of the business-to-business software company closed today at $92.19, up more than 4 percent. The acquisition is expected to close by fall of 2000.

Through the deal, Mountain View, Calif.-based Ariba will acquire SupplierMarket's 7,700 registered buyers and more than 12,000 registered suppliers, as well as the company's technology platform.

"This acquisition not only deepens the reach of the Ariba B2B Commerce Platform to new customers in new markets, but it also extends our value proposition to, and business opportunities with our existing base of marketplaces, corporate exchanges, buyers, suppliers, commerce service providers and partners of all sizes," Ariba chief executive Keith Krach said in a statement.

SupplierMarket, based in Burlington, Mass., gives buyers and suppliers a marketplace to locate new trading partners, negotiate purchases and collaborate on the Internet. The privately held company employs about 155.