Online Shopping Firm to Buy Texas Company

A Huntington Beach online shopping mall has announced a deal to acquire a Texas company, Para-Link Inc., in a reverse merger so the Orange County firm can get access to the public markets, the companies said Wednesday.

iChargeit, whose Internet mall is not yet open, will hold about 85% of the surviving company, while the rest will be held by the investors in Para-Link, a shell company. iChargeit is run by partners Jesse Cohen and Michael Nichols and is headquartered in Cohen’s Huntington Beach home. The merger is expected to be finalized next month.

After the reverse merger, the company will be renamed iChargeit and its stock symbol will change.

The company, which has eight employees, does not have any proprietary technologies or distribution mechanisms; it intends to repackage electronic commerce technologies in a more user-friendly way.