Online grocery marketplace buys partner
iTradeNetwork, an online marketplace used by grocery stores and food distributors for buying perishable foods, has agreed to acquire Provision X, a marketplace launched last spring by five leading meat and poultry producers. The two companies had linked marketplaces in September to allow 1,700 iTradeNetwork customers and Provision X meat suppliers to trade online. The acquisition, announced last week, will add suppliers of beef, pork and poultry to the iTrade marketplace, which had previously focused on produce and seafood suppliers. Provision X was formed in 2000 with $17 million in funding from Gold Kist, Tyson Foods and Excel, a division of Cargill, among others. Analysts said Provision X would likely have required more funding before turning a profit and that finding an acquisition partner may have been a way out of further investment.
The acquisition, announced last week, will add suppliers of beef, pork and poultry to the iTrade marketplace, which had previously focused on produce and seafood suppliers. Provision X was formed in 2000 with $17 million in funding from Gold Kist, Tyson Foods and Excel, a division of Cargill, among others. Analysts said Provision X would likely have required more funding before turning a profit and that finding an acquisition partner may have been a way out of further investment.