Independent digital commerce specialist Astound Commerce has acquired MarketForce, a business unit within Digital River and leading innovator in digital performance marketing services. The partnership will enable Astound Commerce to significantly scale its demand and digital engagement practice, as it addresses pressing client needs for higher digital brand and business ROI. The transaction between the two companies was finalized on February 1, 2021.

Given MarketForce’s vast client roster of global brands in technology, consumer electronics and other industries and over 50 employees located in the US, UK, Europe and Asia, the global union will provide clients with a wide range of effective ecommerce strategies and services on world-class platforms such as Salesforce, SAP/Hybris, and Adobe/Magento. The combined offerings will include affiliate and email marketing, content production, conversion rate optimization, paid media, SEO, and the analytics and multi-touch attribution necessary for comprehensive support.

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“Combining Astound’s experience, technology, design and demand capabilities with MarketForce’s proven performance marketing business model and outstanding global services will enable us to move forward together as the most powerful end-to-end digital commerce specialist in the marketplace today,” says Igor Gorin, North American CEO, Astound Commerce. “We are extremely excited to welcome MarketForce to the Astound Commerce family.”

While the increase in ecommerce was clear prior to COVID-19, the pandemic has dramatically accelerated the rise of the category. The combination of Astound Commerce and MarketForce is uniquely suited to provide the development and support required to thrive in an increasingly hypercompetitive environment.

“I’m delighted that MarketForce is joining forces with Astound Commerce,” says Jeff Dahlby, President, MarketForce. “Our organizations share a common passion for delivering expert services focused on optimizing ecommerce solutions for our clients. Through our combined expertise, we will offer a full suite of design, demand, experience, and technology capabilities on a global scale.”

Igor Gorin will lead the combined business operations as the CEO of North America. Jeff Dahlby will join Astound as a Vice President and will partner with Astound Head of Demand Sean Dunn to lead the integration.

“By bringing together MarketForce’s digital performance marketing acumen, skills, and talent and Astound’s market-leading digital commerce capabilities, we can further establish ourselves as a driver of maximum business value across every digital commerce touchpoint,” says Astound CommerceGlobal CEO Michael Kahn.

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“As one of the leading players in digital commerce, Astound Commerce is the perfect home for MarketForce,” says Adam Coyle, CEO, Digital River. “We are thrilled for our MarketForce colleagues, and are committed to working closely with both Astound and MarketForce to continue building a long-term partnership between our companies that will further strengthen our ability to provide exceptional commerce experiences for our collective clients.”

Prior to the acquisition, MarketForce was a business unit within Digital River, a valued Astound Commerce partner known for its global payments, fraud, tax and compliance commerce management solutions. The acquisition of MarketForce will take the Astound Commerce–Digital River partnership to the next level, further benefiting clients of both companies.

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