HP 3000 mail order and Web commerce software supplier Ecometry did not merge itself with prospective buyer Syngistix, opting to take the company back into private status and exit the Wall Street position the company had occupied since 1999. The merger did not execute as planned because of a lack of funding at Syngistix, according to Ecometry CEO John Marrah, so the firm simply closed on the deal that returns Ecometry’s ownership to its founders Wilburn Smith and Allan Gardner. Shareholders received $2.70 in cash for each Ecometry share from the SG Merger Corp., and the company closed its NASDAQ seat on May 31.

Shareholders approved the merger on May 22, but at the same time voted to accept an offer 20 cents per share lower from SG Merger if the Syngistix deal did not close. The 12 million-plus shares had traded above $20 a share in early 2001, then fell below $5 a share and remained there through last month. Ecometry reported a $1.9 million loss for its latest quarter, less red ink than the $2.5 million loss in Q2 of fiscal 2001. The company cut its losses by reducing expenses in sales and marketing. Revenues increased for software licensing by more than $600,000 over last year’s Q2, and third-party hardware and software sales — yes, that would include HP 3000s, still being bought by existing customers — were only down by $100,000 over the prior year’s period.

Becoming a privately-held firm once again won’t change anything for the customers running HP 3000s and using the Ecometry application suite, Marrah maintained. Now the company won’t have to maintain the financial and legal resources required of a publicly-traded firm, which the CEO said would result in a savings of close to $1 million a year. More importantly, the management focus will turn toward customers and company internal operations, rather than concerns of analysts and shareholders.