Mamma Search is Buying Copernic
Mamma.com Inc., the paid search company, and Copernic Technologies Inc. announced that Mamma has signed a letter of intent where they will acquire all of the shares of Copernic Technologies for a combination of cash and shares of Mamma.com Inc. The closing of the acquisition will be effected by the parties pursuant to a definitive purchase agreement, when and if negotiated and entered into by Mamma.com and Copernic.
Copernic has recently gone through a rebirth with the popularity of desktop search. The Copernic acquisition plans by Mamma shows that Mamma is now quite serious about expanding its search offerings beyond meta search partners and perhaps more into the tech field. Search engines, portals and browser systems are trying to get off of the Internet and your desktop and into your hard drives, email, and private files. By taking advantage of a basically lame Windows Search tool used by Microsoft since the dawn of MS Windows, huge public monsters like AOL and Google as well as smaller software developers are introducing desktop and email search which is filling the demands of Windows users. Of all the current players in the Desktop Search field, Copernic is one of the first.
Copernic is currently a paid for tool (in its fullest capacity) and the option to expose one’s desktop to sponsored ads in return for a free full version has to be in the works for the Mamma team. “This significant transaction will result in a company which is at the forefront of the Internet Search industry and a stronger provider of integrated on-line marketing services,” said Guy Fauré, President and CEO of Mamma.com Inc., “As a result of the combination, Mamma intends to reach both web-based and desktop-based search users, utilizing Copernic’s award winning desktop search (CDS) product.” Copernic recently received the Editor’s Choice award from CNET. Fauré also noted, “The synergy between Mamma’s search network and Copernic’s Agent user base will significantly increase our ability to reach a much broader demographic for our advertisers.”
