The deal will combine a major B2B
and B2C e-commerce platform and business software provider with an email
marketing company that works with more than 100 Top 1000 online
merchants. NetSuite will pay $200 million for Bronto.
In a deal that will combine the resources of a major
supplier of e-commerce software with those of an online marketing firm,
NetSuite Inc. signed an agreement to purchase Bronto Software for
$200 million.
NetSuite provides order management software to 15 merchants ranked in the new
Internet Retailer 2015 Top 500 Guide,
including Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (ranked No. 80), Groupon Goods
(No. 30) and PureFormulas.com (No. 401). It also supplies customer
relationship management (CRM) and fulfillment services to many of those
retailers, and 27 e-retailers in the 2014 Second 500 Guide use
NetSuite’s order management system and other services.
In total, the company says more than 3,000 business-to-business and
business-to-consumer companies use its SuiteCommerce e-commerce
platform. More than half of those customers are B2B, and last year it
launched a new set of
B2B software tools for its SuiteCommerce e-commerce platform.
In combining the marketing capabilities of Bronto with the e-commerce
platform, order management and inventory visibility of NetSuite, the
companies believe they have a unique opportunity to enable retailers to
market to customers more effectively, Bronto CEO Joe Colopy and NetSuite
general manager of commerce products Andy Lloyd said.
“Going forward, think about a retailer that’s sending out email
marketing to their customer list,” Lloyd says. “They have specific items
they want to market to that customer. If they send out the exact same
email to all clients, they may be promoting an item that’s not in stock
in the store a mile down the road from some customers. Now you’ll be
able to do things like send email to consumers that takes into account
not only their purchase history, but also things like what’s in stock in
a local store.”
The companies will operate separately, and both are planning major
hires. NetSuite plans to add 1,000 employees this year, Lloyd says, and
Bronto is on track for an additional 100 hires, mostly at its
headquarters in Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
Thirty-seven merchants in the 2015 Top 500 Guide, including JustFab
Inc. (No. 98), Nasty Gal Inc. (No. 112) and CafePress.com (No. 140), and
67 merchants in the 2014 Second 500 Guide name Bronto as their email
marketing provider. (The 2015 edition of the Second 500 Guide will be
released in mid-May.)
NetSuite and
Bronto
say they will be able to supply retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers
and distributors with NetSuite’s e-commerce and accounting software
integrated with Bronto’s marketing tools.
“This combination, for the first time ever, ties a rich marketing
automation system with a cloud-based omnichannel commerce platform. The
capabilities this solution will deliver are transformational,”
says NetSuite CEO Zach Nelson. “Just as customers demand seamless cross-channel
shopping experiences, they increasingly expect companies to communicate
consistently through all of their digital experiences – on site, at
stores, in email or through social or mobile. By combining the two companies’
offerings and technology, we can help merchants deliver relevant and
consistent digital commerce experiences throughout the customer
journey.”
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2015,
subject to certain closing conditions and regulatory clearance.
