• by Masha Geller , February 19, 2002

Looks like everyone’s hopes of having to deal with just one set of Internet traffic numbers have been lost. NetRatings and Jupiter Media Metrix announced today that they would not be merging after all.

According to an announcement made earlier this morning, the two companies mutually decided to call off their proposed merger amid signs that the Federal Trade Commission would challenge the deal and seek a court order blocking it.

Last October, NetRatings agreed to buy Jupiter in a $71.2 million deal in hopes of more than doubling its client base at a time when both companies were struggling with the economic slowdown. As part of the deal, NetRatings agreed to lend Jupiter up to $25 million under a secured credit facility – a point the FTC staff said they would challenge as well.

As a result, NetRatings said today it would cut 15% of its staff and focus more on its core measurement and analytical research services. Jupiter said in a separate statement it retained Robertson Stephens as an adviser to help explore other strategic options.

The announcement was not a total surprise because in late January, as regulators' requests for more information created uncertainty about the outcome of the merger, JMM and NetRatings resumed a patent lawsuit that had been put on hold after the companies' decision to merge in October. JMM had sued NetRatings for allegedly infringing a patent used for collecting data from the Internet.

Some observers were hoping that the merger would bring about common measurement standards for the industry, but according to others, this is a good development - “The more competition there is, the better."