ATG to Acquire Automated Personalization and Recommendations Leader CleverSet

Wireless News
01-24-2008
ATG to Acquire Automated Personalization and Recommendations Leader CleverSet

WIRELESS NEWS-January 24, 2008-ATG to Acquire Automated Personalization and Recommendations Leader CleverSet (C)2008 10Meters - http://www.10meters.com

ATG (Art Technology Group), and CleverSet announced that the two companies signed a definitive agreement for ATG to acquire CleverSet for approximately $10 million in cash, less closing adjustments of approximately $1 million.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of CleverSet's stockholders, and is expected to occur in the current quarter. The transaction is expected to be accretive on a non-GAAP diluted per share basis in 2009.

CleverSet is a technology company in the field of automated personalization engines, used to optimize e-commerce experiences by presenting visitors with relevant recommendations and information. CleverSet s next-generation technology has been shown to significantly lift e-commerce revenue by increasing conversion rates and order size.

According to CleverSet s founder, Dr. Bruce D'Ambrosio, associate professor emeritus at Oregon State University, CleverSet s patented technology incorporates advanced statistical relational learning, based on Bayesian network analysis, originally developed by CleverSet for the US Department of Defense and other government agencies for applications in e-commerce, intelligence analysis and other real-time applications. This approach drives more relevant experiences for online customers by using more types of data from more sources, compared to techniques like collaborative filtering. CleverSet s personalization engine incorporates billions of data points such as real-time and historical onsite behavior, other shoppers behavior, buying history, catalog information, merchandising strategy and external conditions such as time of day, day of week and seasonality to deliver more relevant recommendations.

In 2007, CleverSet was awarded Best in Show at the Web 2.0 Summit and named America s Most Innovative Company by the American Business Association. The company has benefited from leadership with a diverse set of experience and expertise critical to developing a successful emerging technology. CleverSet s executives and advisors are comprised of individuals from top academic institutions, venture capital firms and influential Internet companies, such as Google, Amazon and eBay.

By complementing ATG s robust, merchant-driven, scenario-based personalization already employed by the company s commerce platform customers, CleverSet will advance ATG s mission of enabling online sellers to find customers, convert them into buyers and ensure their satisfaction with the goal of developing a loyal and profitable customer base. CleverSet s automated personalization and recommendations engine is applicable across a wide-range of industries like retail, manufacturing, telecommunications, financial services, travel and hospitality and more. Delivered via a SaaS model, CleverSet can be easily added to any Web site. Once installed, CleverSet learns how to deliver more relevant, personalized offers and drive cross-sell and up-sell recommendations. CleverSet does not require day-to-day involvement of the merchant s business or IT staff.

This acquisition will enable us to help online sellers across multiple industries optimize their e-commerce investments and provide the best shopping experience for their customers. said Bob Burke, ATG president and CEO. CleverSet s market-leading automated personalization technology is an ideal on demand solution that complements rules-based personalization already built into ATG s core commerce platform.

CleverSet has proven that our superior technology delivers superior results, said CleverSet CEO, Todd Humphrey. Coupling that with ATG s reputation as the e-commerce leader and its established sales, marketing and partner network will enable the CleverSet technology to reach its full potential.

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(Copyright M2 Communications Ltd. 24, 2008)