Vista International has scrapped plans to spin off PubEasy, its e-commerce service, as a separate company. Last September, Vista said that in order to raise more capital to grow the company, it was talking to a number of parties about investing in PubEasy (News, Sept. 11, 2000), but Vista spokesperson Luke Iorio said that given the current economic conditions, PubEasy would best be served by becoming fully integrated into Vista. "Vista provides a solid foundation for PubEasy's growth," Iorio said.
The decision resulted in the resignation of PubEasy CEO Peter Clifton, while chairman Tom Paul and chief financial officer George Hisert will leave following a transition period. PubEasy's U.S. headquarters in White Plains, N.Y., will be closed and the remaining staff will be given an opportunity to move to Somerset, N.J., where Vista's American headquarters is located. Gary Bowman will head PubEasy under the new operating structure as chief operating officer, reporting to Brian Gibson, Vista CEO.
PubEasy provides booksellers with access to order placement and tracking, price, title and availability data over the Internet with participating publishers and wholesalers. It currently has more than 5,000 users.
