Dive Brief:
- Financial software company Intuit is selling Demandforce, an online marketing and communication software firm for small businesses, to Internet Brands, an online media and software services company for an undisclosed amount, according to Venture Beat.
- Intuit acquired Demandforce in 2012 for $424 million.
- Intuit is also selling its well-known financial software businesses – Quicken and Quickbase.
Dive Insight:
According to Bob Brisco, CEO of Internet Brands, who spoke with Venture Beat, Internet Brands bought Demandforce to bolster its "rapidly growing presence in the SMB software services space, particularly in the health category."
About the deal, Brisco said in a statement, "Demandforce’s success in health-related categories including medical and dental practices aligns strategically with Internet Brands’ intense focus on the same target markets."
Research from VB Profiles found that the martech sector had $17 billion in funding last year, down from 2014’s $47 billion. Meanwhile, VB Profiles owner, Venture Beat, described the sector as exciting, stating in an article on the topic that "the space continues to grow in both new products and improved penetration at mid-sized and larger company levels."
Integrate CMO Scott Vaughan, told Marketing Dive last fall, "While it may seem like there is martech convergence today because of the race to capitalize on this need, convergence is not happening yet. The number of new players entering the market is outrunning convergence today."