Microsoft Acquires Software Developer

Microsoft Corp. has purchased eShop Inc., a developer of software that allows merchants to sell things on computer networks, the companies said Tuesday.

Terms were not disclosed.

Microsoft will incorporate eShop’s programs into a broader product of its own, called Microsoft Merchant, that won’t be sold until the end of the year.

eShop’s software was designed to allow retailers to do things on-line that aren’t possible in physical stores, such as keeping a history of what people buy and making new price offers on the spur of the moment. It has been used by companies such as Tower Records and 1-800 Flowers Inc.

“It will allow us to get a flexible, tested, well-proven product to market this year … and help us move forward the market more quickly than might otherwise have been the case,” said Paul Maritz, Microsoft group vice president.