By Greg Bensinger
Liberty Media's CommerceHub is set to announce Thursday it has
agreed to acquire e-commerce advisory firm Mercent as it seeks to
broaden its clients' reach online, particularly through Amazon Inc.
and Google Inc.
CommerceHub helps retailers control maintain their inventory by
connecting them to suppliers that can ship goods directly to
consumers. Mercent advises companies on their online marketing
strategy including pricing and search-engine optimization, the art
of getting products to the top of search results.
The combination will allow retailers like Sears and Best Buy to
turn to a central hub from which they can both manage their
inventory more efficiently and get help plotting their online
marketing strategy. Terms of the deal, which is expected to close
in January, weren't disclosed.
"The number of places where shoppers can buy things today is
growing," including directly through social media websites like
Twitter and Facebook and, possibly soon, through Google search
results, said Eric Best, Mercent's chief executive. "So it's
getting more difficult for retailers to ensure they deliver the
same experience, the same inventory, on every channel."
Frank Poore, CommerceHub CEO, said the acquisition will give his
operation access to and data from marketplaces like Amazon and
eBay, venues in which the Albany, N.Y., firm doesn't participate
today. His company helps retailers avoid the cost of building large
warehouses and managing inventory by connecting orders directly to
manufacturers that ship the merchandise to customers, which is
known as drop shipping.
CommerceHub has 210 employees and $8 billion in annual gross
merchandise volume, compared with Mercent's 90 employees and
roughly $2 billion in goods sold. Mercent is backed by $17 million
from Madrona Venture Group, an early Amazon investor, The Hillman
Company and private-equity fund TVC Capital.
Mr. Best, who founded Mercent in 2005, will become chief
marketing officer of CommerceHub.
Write to Greg Bensinger at greg.bensinger@wsj.com
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