BakBone Completed Acquisition of ColdSpark for $16 Million

BakBone Software, Inc. has completed the acquisition of ColdSpark, provider of enterprise email infrastructure solutions and platforms. Under the terms of the agreement, BakBone will pay $15.938 million for the Company, consisting of $8.125 million in cash and 18,169,780 common shares with a deemed value of $7.813 million, with payments extending over three years. In connection with the closing, BakBone will pay cash of $750,000 and issue 9,117,877 common shares which will be subject to certain selling restrictions.

“This acquisition provides BakBone with a strong entrée into the rapidly-growing enterprise message management market,” said Jim Johnson, president and chief executive officer, BakBone. “ColdSpark is a leader in managing global messaging infrastructures, with an established presence with some of the world’s largest companies in industries including financial services, manufacturing and media and a growing identified pipeline opportunity of more than $7.0 million. 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. The combination further advances our Integrated Data Protection strategy through the expansion of our product portfolio, as well as access to a large and growing new market.”

ColdSpark, based in Broomfield, Colo., is a provider of enterprise email infrastructure solutions and platforms. The Company’s flagship SparkEngine Mail Transport Platform enables customers to enhance the power of their email to drive revenue, build customer relationships and improve business efficiency, while ensuring security, compliance and performance. Customers include many of the world’s largest financial services companies such as Merrill Lynch, as well as companies in the entertainment and hospitality industries like Fairmont Hotels and Starz Encore, among others.

“We are very excited to be joining the BakBone team,” said Scott Brown, co-founder and chief technology officer, ColdSpark. “We share a common vision about the increasing importance of email security compliance, an area which continues to grow. With this transaction, ColdSpark will have the resources necessary to realize the full potential of our technology and bring a broader set of products to a larger customer base much faster.”

An industry visionary, Brown will join BakBone Software as the General Manager of BakBone’s new Message Management Division. The new Division will focus on expanding the Company’s capacity to allow enterprise customers to more effectively manage and control messaging to improve overall customer care and compliance.

BakBone Software retained Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC as its financial advisor and Morrison & Foerster LLP as its legal advisor.