Kana to Buy Broadbase

Kana Communications Inc. agreed to buy Broadbase Software Inc. for about $71.4 million in stock, combining two customer-service software makers whose shares have fallen about 99% in 13 months. Shareholders of Menlo Park, Calif.-based Broadbase would receive 1.05 Kana shares for each share held. The companies said combining their products will enable the new company, Kana Software, to offer more complete systems to manage customer relationships. Shares of Redwood City, Calif.-based Kana, which traded as high as $15.50 in March 2000, closed off 7 cents at 81 cents. Shares of Broadbase, which traded as high as $86 in March 2000, fell 2 cents to close at 70 cents. Both trade on Nasdaq.