OpenWebs Corp. of Pittsburgh, Pa., which provides e-business solutions to the tire industry utilizing peer-to-peer technology, has acquired San Francisco-based Blue Tiger Networks, a provider of peer-to-peer based e-marketplace software.
OpenWebs, founded in 2000, develops and implements industry-specific peer-to-peer trading communities among manufacturers, distributors and retailers.
With the addition of the Blue Tiger Networks software, the company can now provide an "onramp" to its tradingNetwork -- a complete, integrated application suite that is used to build industry-specific, peer-to-peer networks, enabling OpenWebs to quickly deploy its solution in other vertical markets, the company says.
"Our partnership with Blue Tiger brings true B2B commerce closer to reality by enabling OpenWebs to greatly accelerate product rollout and implementation," says AJ McKenna, president of OpenWebs. "The whole will truly be greater than the sum of its parts."
Brad Oberwager, CEO of Blue Tiger Networks, has been named CEO of OpenWebs, succeeding Wes Lucas, who will remain as chairman of the board of directors. Blue Tiger will relocate its operations to Pittsburgh.
Also, Bill Burnham, a managing director at Sofbank Venture Capital, a funding company for Blue Tiger Networks, has joined the OpenWebs board of directors.
