EarthLink buys e-mail appliance maker

EarthLink buys e-mail appliance maker Internet service provider EarthLink has agreed to acquire Cidco, which produces MailStation, an e-mail-appliance. EarthLink will pay $5 million in cash, or 36 cents per Cidco share, for the Morgan Hill, Calif.-based company.

EarthLink said the acquisition will help it extend its reach to a new audience of Internet users and to bundle the product into new services to lure potential customers. The acquisition will add 120,000 subscribers to Atlanta-based EarthLink.