Italian Buyout Lifts NetCreations

NetCreations, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTCR) rose 3/32 to 6 25/32 Tuesday after the e-mail marketing company said it agreed to a US$7 per-share buyout by Italian Internet service provider SEAT Pagine Gialle SpA.

The deal values NetCreations at a total of about $111 million.

NetCreations said its board unanimously recommended shareholders approve the merger agreement, which came days after a deal with DoubleClick, Inc. collapsed.

The controversial online advertising company agreed in October to buy NetCreations, but terms of the deal included an opt-out provision in the event the e-mail marketer received a higher offer.

NetCreations says its database contains more than 22 million e-mail addresses of consumers who have opted to receive marketing information. The database is expanding by about 80,000 names each day, according to the firm.

SEAT Pagine said the acquisition of NetCreations is consistent with its strategy "to build a leading provider of specialist content for the business customer." The company plans to acquire a controlling stake in France's Consodata, Europe's leading provider of business-to-consumer marketing information.

"The NetCreations team and its business model fit perfectly with our desire to grow our information marketing capabilities," said SEAT Pagine Gialle CEO Lorenzo Pellicioli. "The agreement presents us with the opportunity to enter the U.S. market with a prime asset in the online consumer information marketing arena."

NetCreations chairman and chief executive officer Rosalind Resnick will continue to manage the company after the merger, which is projected to be completed during the first quarter of 2001.