E-mail deliverability firm Return Path Inc. will acquire its competitor Habeas Inc. for an undisclosed sum.
Under the terms of the agreement, Habeas will be absorbed into the Return Path brand and integrate its e-mail reputation management and deliverability services under the Return Path name. The companies began discussing the transaction in May.
“It’s a good opportunity to consolidate the market,” said Matt Blumberg, chairman and CEO of Return Path. “One of the things that was interesting for us is that the Habeas team had been going after a different segment of the market than the we had and we were surprised to see how large they were since we never really ran into them on sales calls.”
Blumberg elaborated that Habeas has often targeted the mid-market segment, while Return Path has gone after Fortune 1,000 companies.
While specific integration plans are still being worked out, Return Path does plan to maintain the Sender Score Certified whitelist and the Habeas SafeList as separate and distinct programs, because the complementary services have different relationships with different ISPs and filters.
Habeas will keep its headquarters and most of its employees in Mountain View, CA, bringing Return Path to Silicon Valley. Return Path is headquartered in New York and has offices in Superior, CO; Paris; London; and Berlin.
The deal was signed on August 6 and is expected to close on August 18.
