Wow, Ariba is really in shopping mood. It bought Goodex - a German sourcing provider in early 2003, Alliente the hosting partner three weeks ago and now Freemarkets, which has just announced their merger with Covisint. Freemarkets has been profitable for a while now. Also Ariba was slightly profitable in 2003.

"Ariba, a Wall Street darling during the B2B boom, said it will pay 2.25 shares of its stock for every share of FreeMarkets, as well as $2 in cash. The deal is expected to close by the end of the second quarter, pending shareholder and regulatory approval."