Market Leaders of Global Trade Management

Completion of the merger is subject to Vastera shareholder, various banking, and other regulatory approvals. The transaction was approved by Vastera's board of directors recommending that Vastera shareholders vote in favor of the transaction. Two major shareholders representing approximately 28 percent of outstanding Vastera shares, Ford Motor Company and Technology Crossover Ventures, have reportedly committed to vote in favor of the transaction pursuant to voting agreements.

With approximately 650 professionals in 14 countries and with over 400 clients throughout the world, Vastera is the worldwide leader of GTM solutions. It serves an international client base, including companies such as Alcatel, Dell, Ford, General Electric (GE), Lucent, Fonterra, Goodyear, Nortel Networks, and Seagate. Vastera's clients use its solutions and services to manage their trade, worldwide by managing the information flows associated with the cross-border components of importing and exporting goods. The vendor's solutions and services enable clients to manage the complexities and inefficiencies inherent in global trading in a manner that allows them to capitalize on the large, highly fragmented, and rapidly growing opportunity that exist in the international market. These clients reportedly realize significant reductions in costs to manage their global trade operations while improving compliance with government regulations and service levels.

Vastera touts its trade experts to be the company's most valuable asset and they were certainly a key factor in JPMorgan Chase's acquisition decision. There appears to be a strong, global demand for trade consultants, because companies want to understand the impact of ever-changing regulations on their business strategy, network design, operations, and financial performance. Consequently, Vastera sells its products and services through its offices in the US and through subsidiaries and branch entities in the UK, Europe, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, and Japan. Its key strengths include comprehensive regulatory content, blue-chip clients, and its ability to merge technology with managed services. It has a strong presence in the automotive and high-tech industries, has in-depth expertise in Brazil, Canada and Mexico, and is currently targeting China. As the only GTM vendor with dedicated personnel and facilities in fourteen countries, Vastera continues to be recognized for its superior management systems and B2B best practices around the world, resulting in service that emphasizes compliance, efficiency, and effectiveness.