Netcentives will offer about 6.3 million shares of common stock in exchange for full ownership of Post. With the demand for e-mail marketing services increasing, industry observers expect that companies like Post will continue to be desirable acquisition targets. As a result, this acquisition will enable Netcentives to command a greater share of the overall marketing spend and add another source of recurring revenue. San Francisco-based Netcentives currently focuses on its popular ClickRewards loyalty program, in which Web companies can reward Web surfers with ClickMiles points.
Surfers can then redeem their points for frequent flier miles and other merchandise.
E-commerce companies like PlanetRx buy the points in order to build traffic by awarding them to online shoppers. Netcentives faces competition from companies like Cybergold and MyPoints. Post, which like Netcentives is based in San Francisco, helps companies design, execute and analyze their e-mail advertising campaigns. It claims it touches more than 23 million consumers on behalf of these businesses. The companies say that their combined customer base will exceed 180 customers, presenting opportunities for cross-selling.