• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, July 6, 2009

CognitiveDATA -- which recently became a wholly owned subsidiary of database marketing agency Merkle -- on Monday announced plans to acquire catalog marketing services firm CMS Direct. The deal, expected to close by July 31, will expand CognitiveDATA's services to include data quality, list processing and marketing database services. As all three companies are privately held, the value of the transaction is not being disclosed.

According to company executives, the goal of the acquisition will be twofold: To grow the overall range of services offered through CognitiveDATA, and to provide more competitive technology to marketers in the catalog retail sector.

"Combined, these companies are well-positioned to bring technology innovations to a sector of the marketplace that has a critical need for solutions that enable cost savings and improved marketing results," aaid David Williams, president and CEO of Columbia, Maryland-based Merkle.

CognitiveDATA, based in Little Rock, AR, and the Minneapolis-based CMS Direct entered into a strategic partnership back in 2006 to combine services. The acquisition will enable CognitiveDATA to completely integrate its proprietary data and accuracy technology with the database and list-processing services offered by CMS Direct.

Simply building out the services that CMS Direct offers was not a viable option, according to Rod Ford, president and CEO of CognitiveDATA. "Marketing in the catalog sector is a highly specialized and extremely complex undertaking," said Ford.

CMS Direct employs approximately 50 at its Minneapolis office, which will remain the operational center of CognitiveDATA's catalog marketing service offerings moving forward.

Founded in 2001, CognitiveDATA serves clients in the retail, communications, insurance and publishing sectors, as well as associations and nonprofits. Merkle announced its acquisition of CognitiveDATA in May. Under the agreement, CognitiveDATA remains a separate brand, continuing to go-to-market through both end-user clients and marketing service providers.