Earthlink Inc. yesterday said it has acquired 14,000 Internet service subscribers when it agreed to take over the Web service division of postnet.com, the Web site for Pulitzer Inc.’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Postnet.com customer accounts will be changed to Earthlink packages comparable in offering and price before the end of the month, said Stephanie McAllister, director of marketing at postnet.com, St. Louis.
The acquisition follows up a series of subscriber-based purchases made by the Earthlink, Atlanta, in 2000. The Internet/email service firm gained 800,000 subscribers when it bought OneMain.com in September. The company also bought out the Arizona Daily Star’s Web services division last year, as well as other newspaper-related Internet service providers.
“Acquisitions is one part of our growth strategy with marketing, of course, being the other,” said Dan Greenfield, vice president of corporate of communications for the firm.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
