iCrossing Doubles Size With Proxicom Buy

iCrossing Doubles Size With Proxicom Buy
by Gavin O'Malley, Tuesday, Jul 31, 2007 6:00 AM ET
MORE THAN DOUBLING IN SIZE overnight, the search-centric iCrossing has acquired Web development agency Proxicom for an undisclosed sum. Growing from 200 to 550 employees, the merger is in line with iCrossing's grand designs to become a top full-service digital agency.
"If you're going to be optimizing pages, you might as well build them," reasoned iCrossing President Don Scales. The two companies had been in talks for about three months prior to Monday's announcement, he said.
Making the deal possible, iCrossing just received $62 million in funding from Goldman, Sachs and existing investors Oak Investment Partners, RRE Ventures and StarVest Partners L.P.
Proxicom gives iCrossing access to an entirely new roster of clients--as there is virtually no overlap between the two companies, according to Scales. Of particular note is Proxicom's automotive vertical, which includes Chevron and Toyota. Dupont is another key Proxicom client.
The acquisition marks one of several recent growth initiatives since the addition of Scales, former CEO of Omnicom's Agency.com.