Commerce One sells e-marketplace unit

Commerce One has agreed to sell its online marketplace for business supplies, the e-commerce software maker said Thursday.

Commerce One customer

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eScout, based in Lee's Summit, Mo., has agreed to purchase the Internet-based marketplace, called Commerce One.net. eScout, a privately held company, operates a competing Web site for corporate purchasing people.

The sale includes Commerce One's contracts with more than 1,500 companies that buy and sell goods and services over its site. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Commerce One, based in Pleasanton, Calif., will continue to support and sell software applications for building online marketplaces, a company representative said. The sale of Commerce One.net will have no effect on the company's software clients such as online automotive supplier Covisint or aerospace and defense marketplace Exostar.

Commerce One and other major software firms have recently sought to distance themselves from a largely failed foray into the business of setting up virtual trading posts for business supplies. After several rounds of layoffs and a reverse stock split in the fall, Commerce One is still struggling to reignite its business.

The companies expect to complete the transaction by March.