Inktomi to Acquire Impulse Buy Network

Inktomi Corp., a maker of Internet-search software, agreed to purchase closely held Impulse Buy Network Inc. for $113 million in stock to bolster its online-shopping software. Inktomi would exchange 900,000 shares of common stock for all of Impulse Buy’s outstanding shares and options. The transaction is expected to close by June 30. Impulse Buy’s software, used by more than 80 merchants, lets online sellers offer promotions such as discount specials and sweepstakes to customers. Inktomi would integrate the software into its Shopping Engine, which helps shoppers find products and pricing information on the Web. Investors in Burlingame, Calif.-based Impulse Buy include No. 1 Internet-search directory Yahoo Inc. and Softbank Corp., Japan’s top software distributor and a major shareholder in dozens of Internet ventures. Shares of San Mateo, Calif.-based Inktomi fell $1.50 to close at $124 on Nasdaq.