The email marketing division of DoubleClick is set to join Alliance's direct marketing arm Epsilon, which it bought in October 2004 and further bolstered with last year's acquisition of Bigfoot Interactive, now called Epsilon Interactive.
This latest deal, which Alliance Data anticipates will close by the end of March, will see DoubleClick's email marketing business absorbed into the Epsilon brand and effectively merged with Epsilon Interactive to create one of the biggest email marketing outfits in the US.
Al DiGuido, Epsilon Interactive president, said: "Through this acquisition we have created a definitive email marketing and communication offering in the global email communications marketplace.
John Scullion, Alliance Data loyalty and marketing service president, said: "It provides us with expanded expertise, technology and capabilities that will service us well as we continue to grow our loyalty and marketing business while also giving us an initial presence in Europe and Asia."
DoubleClick Email Solutions, which has an annual revenue of $40m, has clients including Unilever, CondeNet and AOL. The sale leaves still leaves DoubleClick with its data services brand Abacus.
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