Haht Commerce has been bought for $30 million by Global eXchange Services (GXS), a B2B e-commerce software firm out of Gaithersburg, MD.
Under terms of the agreement, GXS will acquire all the capital stock of Raleigh-based Haht through a merger for approximately $30 million in a combination of cash and shares of GXS Holdings, the parent company of Global eXchange Services.
According to other reports, Haht will maintain its office in Raleigh under the new name, with all 85 employees becoming part of GSX.
“Haht Commerce is a catalyst for helping suppliers and retailers capitalize on the immense value of data synchronization to streamline vital business operations,” said Tom Thomas, chairman, president and CEO of Haht. “By joining Global eXchange Services, we immediately benefit from its worldwide customer reach and broad transaction management capabilities to rapidly accelerate the adoption of our great software solutions. We’re delighted to become part of an organization that shares our vision and will take us and our customers to the next level.”
Thomas and Rowland Archer, one of Haht’s co-founders, will remain with the firm, according to The News & Observer. Richard Holcomb, who helped found Haht before stepping down as chairman, is now chief executive officer of StrikeIron, a web services development firm.
Founded in 1995, Haht raised as much as $87 million in venture capital over the years. Since restructuring in 2001, the company has raised $37 million, with the most recent round of $4.1 million coming last May. Investors have included Durham-based Aurora Funds, Banc of America Capital Investors, Canaan Partners, CIBC Capital Partners and Granite Ventures
The acquisition of Haht by GSX will bring together two providers of complementary B2B e-commerce solutions that help retailers, manufacturers and suppliers. The addition of Haht’s offerings will help GXS, a former GE subsidiary, provide product information management and data synchronization.
“The retail industry sets the pace for the strategic use of technology to improve and redefine business processes,” said GSX President and CEO Gary Greenfield. “This combination is all about improving the quality and consistency of product information data flowing throughout the retail community. Today, the lack of accurate product item information between buyers and sellers in the retail community is a significant and costly problem. By combining our products, services and staff resources, we’ll clearly establish ourselves as a ‘one stop shop’ to address this emerging multi-billion dollar opportunity.”
Haht Commerce: www.haht.com
