B2B software maker plans stock split
Business-to-business software maker Commerce One says its board of directors has approved a 2-for-1 stock split.
The Walnut Creek, Calif.-based company, which makes software that helps companies set up business-to-business (B2B) marketplaces, went public last summer and had a 3-for-1 split in December.
Other, similar companies, including rivals Ariba and i2 Technologies, have seen their market valuations soar as both large and small companies have begun flocking to the Web to set up industrial marketplaces. Firms selling specialized software and offering online exchanges promise to drastically decrease the cost of doing business.
Commerce One has been flying high even after reporting in January that its fourth-quarter loss widened.
The company's stock split will be effected as a stock dividend and distributed on April 19. Shareholders of record at the close of trading on March 24 will be issued an additional share for each share of common stock held that day.
The split will increase the number of common stock outstanding to about 154.8 million shares.
Ariba had a 2-for-1 stock split in December after it went public last summer.