Digital River and Softonic Announce Strategic PartnershipMINNEAPOLIS and BARCELONA- Jan. 13, 2010 - Digital River, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRIV), a leading provider of global e-commerce solutions, and Softonic, a leading European software download site, announced a strategic partnership. As part of a joint agreement, Digital River acquired a less than 15 percent ownership stake in Softonic for a $26 million USD cash investment. Digital River's final percent of ownership in the privately-held, Barcelona-based business will be determined based on Softonic's future financial performance. Softonic will maintain its independence and organizational structure. Softonic is recognized as a top download site and market leader in software downloads in Europe and Latin America, offering thousands of software titles for Windows, Macintosh and mobile phones. As part of the strategic partnership, Digital River will become the exclusive third-party e-commerce provider for digital buy-now software titles on the Softonic site and significantly increase Softonic's existing software catalog by adding a major portion of Digital River's collection of approximately 100,000 downloadable software titles. The expanded software collection will provide Softonic added opportunity to drive global sales and strengthen its leadership position in key markets. "We are pleased to announce a new strategic partnership with Softonic and excited to work with them in offering the global marketplace an unrivaled collection of downloadable software titles," said Joel Ronning, Digital River's CEO. "By working as their e-commerce partner and marketing our software catalog through Softonic, we are expanding our presence in the European marketplace and further differentiating our e-commerce solution from our closest competitors in the region. Through this agreement, we can deliver even more value to our global software clients, broadening their market reach by giving them access to a sizeable population of European software consumers that frequent the Softonic site." "The announcement of our relationship with Digital River reflects our ongoing commitment to developing key alliances with industry leaders that expand our position in strategic markets such as the US and Asia and reinforce our leadership presence in Europe and Latin America," said Tomás Diago, founder and president of Softonic. "There are great synergies and opportunities to grow our businesses. We signed an agreement with Digital River because of its high-caliber software catalog and powerful, industry-leading e-commerce system. Through this single relationship, we look forward to offering our customers both a significantly expanded selection of downloadable software titles as well as a superior online shopping experience." No additional terms of the investment and agreement were disclosed. About Softonic For more details about Softonic, visit the Web site at www.softonic.com. About Digital River, Inc. Founded in 1994, Digital River is headquartered in Minneapolis with offices across the U.S., Asia, Europe and South America. For more details about Digital River, visit the corporate Web site at www.digitalriver.com or call +1 952-253-1234. Forward-Looking Statements Digital River is a registered trademark of Digital River, Inc. All other company and product names are trademarks, registrations or copyrights of their respective owners. ### |
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