FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec 06, 2000
Site Build It! buildit.sitesell.com
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Surefire Commerce acquires SiteSell.com
Acquisition of Internet marketing company enhances BuyItOnline merchant communities
MONTREAL SureFire Commerce Inc. (TSE: MTP) announced today that it has acquired SiteSell.com, one of the Internet's primary resources for how to build, manage, market and sell online. SiteSell's business products and server-side software tools will be integrated into SureFire's BuyItOnline merchant community platform.
"The acquisition of SiteSell adds substantial marketing muscle to our BuyItOnline retail communities," said Rory Olson, president and CEO of SureFire Commerce. "We have acquired a company that brings internationally recognized marketing technologies and strong revenue growth. Most importantly, SureFire gains Dr. Ken Evoy, one of the foremost authorities on Internet marketing and the founder of SiteSell.com."
Dr. Evoy has extensive expertise developing, managing and implementing affiliate-marketing programs. SiteSell has built relationships with over 13,000 affiliates that drive traffic to SiteSell.com. This expertise will be leveraged to build and enhance SureFire's affiliate-marketing programs for its BuyItOnline retail developments in Canada, the US and Europe.
"This is a powerful marriage," said Dr. Evoy, who will be joining SureFire Commerce as a vice president. "SureFire has the infrastructure, support services and technologies that merchants require to sell online. SiteSell brings expertise and technology to help populate SureFire's merchant communities and, in turn, provide these merchants with proven tools for effective marketing and sales on the Internet."
In addition to 13,000 affiliates, SiteSell boasts 60,000 subscribers to its three online magazines, and has sold in excess of 30,000 books online in the past 12 months.
"Ken shares our commitment to sustainable and cost effective solutions for the smaller merchant," said Mr. Olson. "Once established on the Internet, business owners face the challenge of driving traffic and creating brand awareness which is an expensive and difficult task. The acquisition of SiteSell brings the final marketing and selling piece of the equation to BuyItOnline. No other online merchant offering is as carefully drawn or as complete."
SiteSell.com's products and services include the books "Make Your Site Sell", "Make Your Knowledge Sell", "Make Your Price Sell", and "Make Your Words Sell", as well as five-day Masters Courses. In addition, the company has recently launched "Site Build It", an e-business system that focuses on driving targeted traffic and improving sales rates on a user's site.
The purchase includes an equal allocation of cash and shares. More specific details of the agreement were not disclosed.
About SureFire Commerce
SureFire Commerce Inc. (TSE: MTP) is a global business-to-business provider of proprietary e-commerce solutions in the areas of merchant enabling and secure credit card transaction processing. SureFire Commerce is an international provider of secure online transaction processing services, targeting to process in excess of $1 billion in transactions this fiscal year. SureFire Commerce's merchant enabling solutions provide telecommunications companies, Internet service providers, high traffic portals and financial institutions the ability to generate recurrent revenue streams for themselves and their small- and medium-sized business customers. SureFire Commerce is headquartered in Montreal, with offices in Hull and Boston.
For further information visit www.surefirecommerce.com or contact:
Meredith Meaden
Goodman Communications Inc.
Tel: 416-924-9100 ext. 233
meredith@goodmanpr.com
Mark Krakower
SureFire Commerce Inc.
Tel. 514-380-2703
ir@sfcommerce.com