Inktomi To Acquire Content Management Vendor

Inktomi Corp., a supplier of Internet software to Web-hosting companies, yesterday said it will acquire WebSpective, a privately held company that makes content distribution and tracking software.

The deal, valued at $106 million, will allow Inktomi to expand its Traffic Server platform to include a complete software package for Internet content distribution, delivery, and management. It will be incorporated into Inktomi's offering of portal services software, which includes search, directory, and shopping engines, as well as its Traffic Server network cache. The company says the acquisition of WebSpective's technologies will also help it in developing a series of network applications for the enterprise market, which Inktomi is looking to enter later this year.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Inktomi will buy all of WebSpective's outstanding stock and assume all stock options in exchange for Inktomi common stock, accounting for the transaction as a pooling of interests. The deal is expected to close in the next quarter.