Mail.com acquires MZI
(By Saikat Chatterjee, Business Times Bureau, New Delhi)

US-based messaging service provider, Mail.com. has acquired direct mail order and online IT products vendor, Multiple ZOnes India (MZI) in a mix of stock and cash transation. Mail.com has spent Rs. 92 Crore ($20 million) for the acquisition and the development of its portalIndia.com. MZI will now function as an unit of India.com.

Post-acuisition, Mail.com has pumped $3 million into MZI for technological development and upgradation of the company's infrastructure. As part of the upgradatiino plan, MZI has set up a state-of-the-art call cetre. The 16-agent call centre would answer technical and sales quiries of customers. It is also upgrading its webstore for IT products PCZoneIndia.com and plans to expands its offices.

Prior to the acquisition, Multiple ZOnes Inc. of the US held 40 per cent in MZI, Angel investor, Gokul Tandon held another 40 per cent and former MD of MZI Manpreet Singh held the rest 20 per cent.

The Company had recently hired ANdersen Consulting to review its business model and develop it further. MZI is now working on the recommendations made by Andersen.

MZI, which pioneered the mail order concept for IT products in India, is now trying to migrate its mail-order catalogue customers to the Web.