Friday, April 21, 2006

Market Wire Acquired by CCNMatthews

Los Angeles-based Market Wire has been quietly acquired by a Canadian newswire company, in an all cash deal. The acquisition was announced earlier this month. CCNMatthews is a provider of newswire distribution in Canada. The companies said that CCNMatthews has acquired all of Market Wire's stock in an all-cash deal. Market Wire was formerly known as Internet Wire, and has received venture funding from Hummer Winblad, Smart Technology Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and others. As Internet Wire, the firm was unwittingly involved in a scandal over a false press release which caused Costa Mesa-based Emulex to lose over $2B in market value for a day, and which resulted in criminal charges against a former employee. The firm saw a turnaround in fortunes in 2003, when it entered a deal with the NASDAQ to distribute financial releases. The firm competes against Business Wire, PR Newswire, and other press releases services in distributing news to the press and financial markets. Market Wire will continue to be located in Los Angeles under the direction of president and CEO Jim McGovern.