Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

[Paul Jones <pjones AT metalab.unc.edu>]

Siebel acquiring OpenSite Inc. in $444 million stock deal
Apr 18, 2000 11:38 AM ET

By Allan Maurer, dbusiness.com

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., April 18 (dbusiness.com) -- Siebel Systems

Inc., a leading supplier of Ebusiness software, has agreed to acquire
OpenSite Inc., a provider of online auction software and services, in a
pooling of interests stock trade valued at $444 million.

Publicly traded Siebel, called the fastest growing company in America by
Fortune Magazine, will issue 3.9 million new Siebel System shares at an
exchange ratio of .13 for each outstanding share of OpenSite stock. That
values the deal at about $444 million at current Siebel prices.

Siebel makes eBusiness software applications for 1500 customers including
many Fortune 500 companies. It is releasing its newest suite of products
today. The applications help companies build multichannel sales, marketing
and customer service systems online, but until the OpenSite acquisition,
did not include online auction software.

The agreement comes as Triangle-based OpenSite prepared to launch its on
again/off again initial public offering of stock. OpenSite had planned to
sell 5 million shares at between $13 and $15 a share, which would have
raised between $65 and $75 million.

OpenSite vice president of marketing, Grace Trombetta, told dbusiness.com,
"With a lot of investment banks putting the breaks on even the strongest
IPO candidates, we certainly would have had trouble due to current market
conditions."

OpenSite originally filed for an IPO in May last year. It postponed the
IPO in August due to market conditions. In September it agreed to be
acquired by Redmond, Wash.-based InfoSpace in a stock deal valued at $200
million, That deal fell through, reportedly because InfoSpace feared
OpenSite losses would hurt its bottom line. The company updated and
revised its IPO registration statement Feb. 8 this year.

Trombetta said Siebel plans to include OpenSite's auction technology in
its suite of product offerings by the end of the summer.

Adding Siebel's 900 person sales force and customer base to its own is
expected to help the company double its original sales forecasts, she
said. OpenSite sells a variety of auction software and services for prices
ranging from $20,000 to $100,000. It calls its auction products dynamic
commerce, or dCommerce.

OpenSite Chief Executive Kip Frey, who is on the west coast in meetings
with Siebel, becomes the vice president and general manager of Siebel
Systems dCommerce unit. Rather than losing any people, the 140 employee
OpenSite expects Siebel will hire additional people in the Triangle and
move some of its sales force into OpenSite offices as well, Trombetta
said.

Founded in 1996, OpenSite has deployed about 600 online auction products,
which it says is about three times that of its nearest competitor. The
company had about $8 million in 1999 revenues and a net loss of
approximately $12 million.

Siebel, which has over 4,000 employees, plans to add 1,000 people a
quarter to its worldwide operations this year. Siebel's largest customer
is IBM. Others include Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft, Round Rock,
Texas-based Dell Computers, and Charlotte/San Francisco based Bank of
America.

Siebel stock (Nasdaq:SEBL)fell nearly five percent midday, trading at
$107.63, off $5.13. It has a 52-week high of $175.12 and a low of $16.25
in the same period.

Allan Maurer covers the Research Triangle area for dbusiness.com. E-mail
him with story ideas or comments.