Short Take: Exodus agrees to buy KeyLabs

Exodus Communications, a large Web hosting company, has agreed to acquire e-commerce testing firm KeyLabs for $43.5 million. The proposed acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of February, is one of Exodus' first steps toward creating a "Superlab" where its customers can test hosted applications and e-commerce offerings on a variety of computer and software platforms. Exodus plans to continue operating KeyLabs' testing facility in Utah as a subsidiary.