MINNEAPOLIS & BARCELONA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Digital River, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRIV), a leading provider of global e-commerce solutions, and Softonic, a leading European software download site, announced a strategic partnership. As part of a joint agreement, Digital River acquired a less than 15 percent ownership stake in Softonic for a $26 million USD cash investment. Digital Riverâs final percent of ownership in the privately-held, Barcelona-based business will be determined based on Softonicâs future financial performance. Softonic will maintain its independence and organizational structure. Softonic is recognized as a top download site and market leader in software downloads in Europe and Latin America, offering thousands of software titles for Windows, Macintosh and mobile phones.
âWe are pleased to announce a new strategic partnership with Softonic and excited to work with them in offering the global marketplace an unrivaled collection of downloadable software titlesâ
As part of the strategic partnership, Digital River will become the exclusive third-party e-commerce provider for digital buy-now software titles on the Softonic site and significantly increase Softonicâs existing software catalog by adding a major portion of Digital Riverâs collection of approximately 100,000 downloadable software titles. The expanded software collection will provide Softonic added opportunity to drive global sales and strengthen its leadership position in key markets.
âWe are pleased to announce a new strategic partnership with Softonic and excited to work with them in offering the global marketplace an unrivaled collection of downloadable software titles,â said Joel Ronning, Digital Riverâs CEO. âBy working as their e-commerce partner and marketing our software catalog through Softonic, we are expanding our presence in the European marketplace and further differentiating our e-commerce solution from our closest competitors in the region. Through this agreement, we can deliver even more value to our global software clients, broadening their market reach by giving them access to a sizeable population of European software consumers that frequent the Softonic site.â
âThe announcement of our relationship with Digital River reflects our ongoing commitment to developing key alliances with industry leaders that expand our position in strategic markets such as the US and Asia and reinforce our leadership presence in Europe and Latin America,â said TomĂĄs Diago, founder and president of Softonic. âThere are great synergies and opportunities to grow our businesses. We signed an agreement with Digital River because of its high-caliber software catalog and powerful, industry-leading e-commerce system. Through this single relationship, we look forward to offering our customers both a significantly expanded selection of downloadable software titles as well as a superior online shopping experience.â
No additional terms of the investment and agreement were disclosed.
About Softonic
Softonic is a market leader in Europe and Latin America in free software downloads and sales. Founded in Barcelona in 1997, the company has over 170 employees. Softonic offers one of the largest collections of shareware and freeware software titles and commercial demos analyzed, evaluated and validated in different languages by an expert team. Currently, it has more than 100,000 software titles for Windows, Macintosh and mobile phones. Softonic is available in English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese and Polish. The Dutch and Japanese version will be launched in the first half of 2010. Softonicâs headquarters is located in Barcelona. The company has offices in San Francisco, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Madrid as well.
For more details about Softonic, visit the Web site at www.softonic.com.
About Digital River, Inc.
Digital River, Inc., a leading provider of global e-commerce solutions, builds and manages online businesses for software and game publishers, consumer electronics manufacturers, distributors, online retailers and affiliates. Its multi-channel e-commerce solution, which supports both direct and indirect sales, is designed to help companies of all sizes maximize online revenues as well as reduce the costs and risks of running an e-commerce operation. The company’s comprehensive platform offers site development and hosting, order management, fraud management, export controls, tax management, physical and digital product fulfillment, multi-lingual customer service, advanced reporting and strategic marketing services.
Founded in 1994, Digital River is headquartered in Minneapolis with offices across the U.S., Asia, Europe and South America. For more details about Digital River, visit the corporate Web site at www.digitalriver.com or call +1 952-253-1234.
