Aris Pays $12.3m for Fine.com to Boost E-Commerce Offerings.

Aris Corp, the Bellevue, Washington-based IT consulting and services firm, said Tuesday that is has struck a deal to acquire Fine.com International Corp for $12.3m, or roughly $4.55 per share. Fine.com provides e-commerce consulting and services and Aris says the deal will give it a significant boost in the areas of web-based strategy planning, creative web design, e-marketing and technical development capabilities. Aris saw about $2.5m in first-quarter revenue from e-business projects and reckons the acquisition should allow it to nearly double that total.

The purchase price will be paid in Aris stock or a combination of stock and cash and Aris expects the deal to close sometime during the third quarter. Up to one million shares of Aris stock will be exchanged for all the outstanding shares of Fine.com, with the exact mix of shares and cash to be determined by the average Fine.com closing price over a set period. The purchase price won't exceed $4.55 per share, however, which represents a more than 100% premium over Fine.com's Monday closing of $2.25. Aris will account for the acquisition as a purchase.