ST. LOUIS, June 21—Influence, the Internet marketing specialist formed by former Shandwick Interactive CEO Craig Kaminer, has been acquired by Habanero, a web development company. Influence will retain its own identity within the larger group, but will share common infrastructure and administration.

“With the acquisition of Influence, we will be able to offer our combined client list a suite of services not provided by anyone else in the market, let alone the region,” says Victor Mattison, president and chairman of Habanero. “Our ability to supply technology infrastructure, the applications that sit on top of the infrastructure and the consulting and marketing services to leverage these applications to build closer relationships with customers is extremely powerful.”
According to Kaminer, “We see the sale of Influence as the most efficient way to quickly provide a broad array of complementary services and strengthen our competitive position.  As the economy has softened, leading companies have sought mergers and acquisitions to leverage strategic capabilities, maximize financial synergies and grow market share.”