Online meeting management firm StarCite Inc. last week acquired rival technology firm B-there Corp., fulfilling industry predictions of supplier consolidation and confirming speculation that B-there's time as an independent entity was short. Philadelphia-based StarCite gains access to a healthy list of B-there clients, including Aetna, AT&T, Nortel Networks and Procter & Gamble.
The acquisition—the terms of which were not disclosed but industry sources posited a very low purchase price—also brings B-there's Attendee Relationship Management online registration and OneForm data consolidation tools under StarCite's control. StarCite will develop a single-platform tool that encompasses B-there's tools and its own RegWeb attendee management tools, which could be introduced in about one year, said StarCite CEO John Pino.
The move also follows several months of speculation after the April 30 departure of CEO Christine Berthet that Westport, Conn.-based B-there was seeking a buyer. StarCite was viewed as a possible landing spot, despite the fact that the company in 2002 already had purchased attendee management tool RegWeb from Cardinal Communications
(Meetings Today, July 15, 2002)."StarCite's main reason to do this was to buy B-there's clients," said meeting technology consultant Corbin Ball, president of Bellingham, Wash.-based Corbin Ball Associates. "B-there had a substantial client base they could bring into the fold."
Pino painted the move as a way to improve the functionality and versatility of StarCite products and increase his company's visibility in the attendee management space. Pino said B-there and StarCite combined annually would process more than 1 million attendee transactions.
"There are lots of strategic and tactical reasons why we did this," Pino said. "We want to offer corporations an integrated platform with the ability to offer other innovative features. Plus, this gives us the ability to be a major player in attendee management, as 1 million transactions is a huge base. We like their technology, as ARM and OneForm will meld with our platform. Having OneForm in front of our procurement package is a very exciting possibility."
Pino said StarCite will continue to service ARM and OneForm clients' needs as the development to combine the tools with StarCite offerings begins. He added that there was enough differentiation between RegWeb and ARM to make such a development worthwhile.
"B-there versus RegWeb is a little bit different," Pino said. "They do some different things in the back office and some different things that corporations like. We'll take the best of both. It won't be easy. To be realistic, it will take one year, but it's nice to have the technology and building blocks under our control instead of trying to do this as a strategic partnership."
Perhaps B-there's most renowned client is Nortel Networks, as senior manager of strategic planning and enterprise solutions Carolyn Pund was integral in the development of the OneForm data consolidation solution. Pund said she was optimistic about the impact of the merger, but added that it is too soon to judge those effects.
"We're in an uncertain state as to the effects, but everything we hear is quite positive," Pund said. "They seem to be a good complement, but it's too early to know how all of this will work out. I've been through enough mergers to know that, but I hope OneForm will be maintained as a product offering. It's one of our strongest modules from a marketing and events perspective."
The acquisition also somewhat alters the competitive landscape, as buyers have one less option to consider for their meetings technology needs. Though B-there's availability was rumored, Pino said the move was not made to preempt a competitor from buying it. "That's not our concern," he said. "Our feeling is to do what's best for StarCite."
The move sparked differing viewpoints as to the potential for more industry consolidation. Ball believes major consolidation among the meeting technology companies is finished, for now, but Pino said further moves in this space are possible. He flatly denied, however, that StarCite itself was on the block. "We are doing what we are doing to stay on our chosen path," he said.
B-there was never profitable since its 1999 public debut. However, Pino said that would not financially hurt StarCite. "StarCite is focused on being a strong, profitable company, and we would not do anything to hurt StarCite," he said.
"This is not surprising to us," said Ed Tromczynski, president of meetings technology provider PlanSoft. "They have superb customers, and it feels like a strong move. They have a powerful housing and registration application, other interesting products and their revenue isn't terrible, if not a lot."
Tromczynski added that PlanSoft did not strongly consider purchasing B-there, given its recent introduction of its own Qreg attendee management technology
(Meetings Today, July 7). "There's always conversations among the players," he said, "but we weren't in the bakeoff for this one."