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CLEARWATER -- Inuvo Inc., a technology firm focused on Internet advertising, acquired New York-based Vertro Inc. in an all-stock transaction. Inuvo will issue Vertro shareholders 1.546 shares of its stock for each share of Vertro held, a release says.
Based on closing stock prices from last week, Inuvo's offer represents a purchase price of slightly more than $19 million, and provides Vertro owners with a premium of nearly 70% on their holdings. In fact, Inuvo's stock closed at a higher price ($1.75) than Vertro ($1.61) last Friday.
Inuvo is the larger company in terms of 2010 revenues, with $49 million in business generated last year compared to Vertro's $36 million, financial records show. But while Vertro managed to generate a positive operating income of $1.17 million, Inuvo posted $4 million in operating losses.
In 2009, both companies combined posted operating losses of nearly $12 million.
The companies expect their mutual focus -- both firms specialize in e-commerce -- to create synergistic savings going forward. The companies estimate their products generate 20 million revenue-generating online ad clicks per month, and reach 132 million unique Web users.
The companies expect to complete the merger by the end of the year.
While Vertro currently operates from New York, the firm has Gulf Coast roots: founder Craig Pisaris-Henderson created the company in Fort Myers in 1995. In 2005, Pisaris-Henderson's creation -- then known as FindWhat.com -- merged with MIVA Inc., and in 2009 MIVA rebranded itself as Vertro.
Richard Howe leads Clearwater-based Inuvo. Howe spoke to the Business Review about the results of his turnaround efforts with the company in February (see “Digital Do-Over,” Feb. 4, 2011).
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