BakBone ignites ColdSpark buyout

BakBone acquires email infrastructure vendor for route into enterprise message management market

BakBone will pay $15.9m for ColdSpark

Integrated data protection vendor BakBone Software has purchased Colorado-based ColdSpark as a route into the enterprise message management market.

Under the agreement, BakBone will pay $15.9m (£10.5m) for ColdSpark, comprising $8m (£5.3m) in cash and 18,169,780 common shares with a deemed value of $7.8m.

In connection with the closing, BakBone will pay cash of $750,000 (£494,000) and issue 9,117,877 common shares, which will be subject to certain selling restrictions.

Jim Johnson, chief executive officer of BakBone, said: “This acquisition provides BakBone with a strong entrée into the rapidly growing enterprise message management market.

“BakBone’s data protection platform, combined with ColdSpark’s SparkEngine Open Mail Transport Platform, will allow customers to improve corporate compliance, mitigate risk, improve performance and reduce operational costs.”

Scott Brown, co-founder and chief technology officer of ColdSpark, will join BakBone as the general manager of the vendor’s new Message Management Division.

BakBone’s new division will focus on expanding the company’s capacity to allow enterprise customers to better manage and control messaging, for overall improvements in customer care and compliance.

Brown said ColdSpark is excited to be joining the BakBone team.

“With this transaction, ColdSpark will have the resources necessary to realise the full potential of our technology and bring a broader set of products to a larger customer base much faster,” he said.