Handspring to Acquire Bluelark

Handspring Inc. agreed to buy closely held Bluelark Systems Inc. for about $16 million in stock to add wireless Internet access to its product lineup. Handspring said it will make the acquisition with up to 450,000 shares of stock. Its shares fell 19 cents to close at $35.88 on Nasdaq. Handspring plans to add Bluelark’s software and Web browser to its electronic organizers. Currently, users must purchase a module and add it to their Handspring device to get wireless Internet access. Demand has surged for Handspring’s hand-held devices, which are based on Palm Inc.’s operating system. Handspring and Bluelark are based in Mountain View, Calif. Bluelark’s 11 employees will join Handspring, which expects to complete the transaction sometime in March.