Epsilon Acquires Bigfoot Interactive for $120 Million
Relationship marketing company Epsilon, a division of Alliance Data Systems Corp., Dallas, said yesterday that it will buy Bigfoot Interactive for $120 million in cash.Bigfoot's office will remain in New York, and the e-mail communications firm will change its name to Epsilon Interactive. The deal is to close this fall. All 85 of Bigfoot's full-time employees are expected to stay with the company.
Bigfoot, which has annual revenue of $30 million, represents 165 brands, mainly in the retail and financial sectors, including Amazon Services, Target and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Bigfoot's customers will benefit from Epsilon's data management services, Bigfoot CEO Al DiGuido told DM News.
"We've been providing our customers with the best-of-breed e-mail communication solutions ... [but] we always stopped at the fence in terms of data management solutions," he said. "Now, our customers have an expanded toolkit of services that they'll be able to utilize through the combined organization."
DiGuido will serve as president of Epsilon Interactive.
"Direct marketers see this integration between data and communications as being a seamless flow back and forth," he said. "Our whole vision is to be truly multichannel. That includes offline and online communications."
Epsilon Interactive will be able to offer customized marketing programs across multiple channels including direct mail, e-mail and call centers.
"Bigfoot Interactive brings with it ... a business model that addresses both the significant demand for, and the market's rapid growth of, multichannel marketing services, technologies and database solutions," Epsilon president Mike Iaccarino said.
Christine Blank covers online marketing and advertising, including e-mail marketing and paid search, for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters
