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EXHIBIT 99.2
ARIBA COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF SUPPLIERMARKET.COM
ONLINE COLLABORATIVE SOURCING SOLUTIONS EXTEND ARIBA PLATFORM REACH AND VALUE;
STREAMLINE SOURCING PROCESS FOR BUYERS, SELLERS, MARKETPLACES; ADD NEW NETWORK
REVENUE SOURCES
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF. - AUGUST 28, 2000 - Ariba, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARBA), the
leading business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce platform provider, today announced
that it has successfully completed the acquisition of SupplierMarket.com, Inc.,
a leading provider of online collaborative sourcing solutions. Ariba announced a
definitive agreement to acquire privately-held SupplierMarket.com on June 26,
2000.
Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Ariba common stock -
representing up to approximately 2 1/2 percent of Ariba's current fully
diluted capitalization - was exchanged for all outstanding shares, options
and warrants of SupplierMarket.com. The transaction will be accounted for as
a purchase transaction.
Burlington, Massachusetts-based SupplierMarket.com brings innovative, highly
scalable and Internet-based technology to Ariba to automate the sourcing
process, dynamically match buyers and suppliers, and negotiate price and
value-added services through real-time reverse auctions. In addition, the
acquisition brings over 8,000 registered buyers and more than 13,000 registered
suppliers to the Ariba Network.
By integrating SupplierMarket.com's technology, Ariba further extends the
value and reach of the Ariba-Registered Trademark- B2B Commerce Platform to
create new competitive advantages, savings and revenue opportunities for
buyers, suppliers, and marketplaces. Internet-based collaborative sourcing
will also provide Ariba with new network-based revenue streams and deeper
penetration into vertical and direct materials markets, and will accelerate
the network effect for all participants on the Ariba B2B Commerce Platform.
"Sourcing represents one of the most critical collaborative processes enabling
companies to increase the efficiency of their supply chains," said Keith Krach,
Ariba's chairman and CEO. "With SupplierMarket.com, Ariba gains a robust
collaborative sourcing platform and related domain expertise allowing buyers and
suppliers of direct and indirect materials to locate new trading partners,
negotiate purchases and collaborate on the Internet. We believe sourcing will be
fundamental to our customers, suppliers, and partners as we work together to
build liquidity in the B2B economy."
"We are excited to join the Ariba family and to hit the ground running with the
leading and most comprehensive B2B solution in the market," remarked Rick Feldt,
Ariba executive vice president of sourcing. "With this acquisition, Ariba has
augmented its leading B2B solution by adding a sourcing function that can be
leveraged throughout enterprise commerce chains."
Sourcing has the potential to allow companies to greatly increase their supply
chain efficiency. Sourcing includes negotiated purchase of goods and services as
well as multiple collaborative processes such as analyzing purchases across
commodity categories and business units, researching suppliers and supply
markets, estimating savings opportunities, preparing RFQs, and staging
competitive events to negotiate the final purchase price and terms.
ABOUT ARIBA, INC.
Ariba, Inc. is the leading business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce platform,
provider. Through the Ariba B2B Commerce Platform -- an open, end-to-end
infrastructure of interoperable software solutions and hosted Web-based commerce
services -- the company enables efficient online trade, integration and
collaboration between B2B marketplaces, buyers, suppliers and commerce service
providers. The global reach and best-of-breed functionality of the Ariba B2B
Commerce Platform creates Internet-driven economies of scale and process
efficiencies for leading companies around the world. Ariba can be contacted in
the U.S. at 650-930-6200 or at www.ariba.com.
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Ariba is a registered trademark of Ariba, Inc. All other products or company
names mentioned are used for identification purposes only, and may be trademarks
of their respective owners.
Information in this release may involve expectations, beliefs, plans, intentions
or strategies regarding the future. These forward-looking statements involve
risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements included in this release
are based upon information available to Ariba as of the date of the release, and
we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement. The
statements in this release are not guarantees of future performance and actual
results could differ materially from our current expectations. Numerous factors
could cause or contribute to such differences including the risks associated
with integrating acquired businesses, products and technologies. Some additional
factors and risks associated with our business are discussed in the Company's
registration statement on Form S-1 declared effective by the Securities and
Exchange Commission ("SEC") on June 22, 1999, and in the other reports filed
from time to time with the SEC.
