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BabyUniverse to be acquired by Denver's EToys

Published March 14, 2007 at midnight

BabyUniverse Inc., an Internet retailer of baby and maternity products, agreed to be acquired by closely held EToys Direct Inc. in an all-stock transaction. Financial terms were not disclosed.

EToys shareholders will own two-thirds of the combined company’s stock, while shareholders of BabyUniverse will own one- third. EToys Chief Executive Officer Michael Wagner will be CEO of the combined company and BabyUniverse CEO John Textor will be chairman.

EToys, based in Denver, operates the KB Toys chain of stores and KBToys.com and EToys.com Web sites. The company was formed in May 2004 when investment firm D.E. Shaw bought the assets of bankrupt KB Toys Inc. KB Toys had bought the trademarks, logos, Web address and other assets of bankrupt Internet retailer EToys Inc. in May 2001.

Shares of Jupiter, Florida-based BabyUniverse fell 46 cents, or 5.8 percent, to $7.47 as of 11:14 a.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. They had fallen 15 percent in the past year before today.

The combined company will continue to trade under BabyUniverse’s POSH ticker on the Nasdaq Stock Market,

although it has not been determined what its name will be, spokesman Jonathan Teaford said.

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