Small Business Finance News
MerchantCircle Acquired By Online Auction Marketplace
Written by Jenna Weiner
Published: 5/31/2011
Reply's locally targeted marketing initiative gets a boost after its acquisition of MerchantCircle.
MerchantCircle, an online network for local businesses, made small business news after it was acquired by Reply last week.
Reply is a marketplace for the acquisition of locally targeted consumer traffic. The company connects advertisers looking for ways to reach local businesses. The $60 million acquisition of MerchantCircle will enhance its access to local merchants and customers, and enables both companies to shift advertising dollars online.
"There is a multi-billion-dollar market opportunity in providing a practical and scalable online marketing solution for powering locally targeted commercial transactions," said Reply founder & CEO, Payam Zamani. "Reply's Marketplace, combined with MerchantCircle's network of local merchants and millions of local consumers, position the company to revolutionize locally targeted online marketing."
Reply's Marketplace is the company's online marketing platform for the acquisition of locally targeted and category-specific consumers on a cost-per-lead basis.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2011, and the company's combined revenues are expected to exceed $100 million in 2012.
The merger opens Reply to more than 25 million unique local visitors per month, more than 2 million local merchants and more than 1 million consumer leads per month in a variety of categories.
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