Calif.-based Ask Jeeves Inc., a provider of Web search, has inked an agreement with Kanisa Inc., which will acquire Jeeves Solutions, the enterprise software division of Ask Jeeves. With the sale, Ask Jeeves will focus solely on its growing Web-wide search business.

Kanisa will acquire substantially all assets of Jeeves Solutions including the JeevesOne technology and its approximately 40 corporate customer accounts. Kanisa will pay a purchase price of $4.25 million, of which $3.5 million will be paid in cash on closing and the remaining in a one-year promissory note for $750,000, which is subject to certain conditions. The sale is expected to close in July 2003.

"Our decision to sell Jeeves Solutions to Kanisa was reached after much consideration about the best growth strategies for both our Web Properties and enterprise software divisions," said Skip Battle, CEO of Ask Jeeves, Inc.

"Our leadership in helping companies improve customer service across multiple support channels will be extended by incorporating the best customer-facing search technology in the market," said Bruce Armstrong, CEO of Kanisa. "The combination of Kanisa and Jeeves Solutions creates a true powerhouse in knowledge-empowered customer service applications."

Ask Jeeves will now focus on its core competency of Web-wide search. Currently the second most visited pure search site in the U.S., Ask Jeeves' search technology now reaches 25 percent of all searchers in North America.

"The significant growth we've achieved in our Web Properties business is a result of both the success of search advertising as well as the unique search experience we deliver to consumers at Ask Jeeves," commented Battle. "Now with a single-market focus we are in an even better position to continue to pursue the opportunities in the Web-wide search sector."