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As a growing, profitable firm with a successful product in the hot space of ecommerce, Blue Hornet Networks Inc., got a whole lot of attention from both venture capital investors and larger software firms eager to acquire it.
In the end, chief executive Tim Marusich said the decision to sell the San Diegobased e-mail marketing firm to Minneapolis-based Digital River came down to how the muchlarger company treated its employees.
"We were more interested in finding a company with compatible values that would take care of our team, and inspire us to keep doing what we're doing," he said.
And the price?
"It was generous and will extend out three years with earn-out incentives," Marusich said of the deal that closed earlier this month. He declined to reveal figures.
The all-stock transaction provides Blue Hornet investors, many of whom are employees, with the chance to cash out through new ownership of Nasdaq-traded Digital River, which is on track to hit revenues of more than $148 million, and posts a market cap of more than $1 billion.
The...