New York (Feb. 25, 2002) - CPA2biz, the Internet-based portal and distributor of products from the American Institute of CPAs has acquired Web services provider Rivio and made that company's founder and chairman, Navin Chaddha, president of CPA2Biz. Financial terms were not disclosed.
With the deal, Santa Clara, Calif.-based Rivio becomes a CPA2biz subsidiary and becomes the portal's application service provider, replacing JamCrackers as the hosting platform. CPA2Biz also adds Rivio's technologies to the products and services available to CPAs and their clients; gains access to the 20,000-plus small businesses that now use services delivered by Rivio, and acquires relationships with its new subsidiary's business partners. Those partners include banking giants Bank of American and Fleet, which are among the companies that use Rivio to host their Internet business platforms.
CPA2Biz chief executive Brett Prager, who retains his title but loses some responsibilities, cited the hiring of Chaddha as a major factor in the decision to make the Rivio deal. The new president is now responsible for day-to-day operations of CPA2Biz, including sales, marketing, product management, technology and operations.
Chaddha, 30, is a technololgy whiz kid. By the age of 25, he had created Internet media company Vxtrteeme and sold it to Microsoft for $75 million, and more recenetly he he was a co-founder of Ibeam Broadcasting, recently sold to Williamns Cos. He is also an investor in several other technologies, including BizFinity, a business services sofware company targeted at CPAs, and he holds 20 patents .
Before joining forces with CPA2Biz, Chaadha had planned to take Rivio public. An IPO for CPA2Biz is still being planned. Prager said.
John M. Covaleski
