ATG Buys Out Leases
Art Technology Group will pay $9.7 million cash to buy out leases for suprlus office space in Cambridge, Mass., San Francisco and Toronto.
The e-commerce software maker, which in recent years has cut back its staff and facilities, had $38.2 million left to pay on the agreements.
Payments to landlords will occur during the second quarter. Additionally, the company expects to record a restructuring benefit to its operating results in the range of $7 million to $9 million.
“Resolving these excess lease obligations has been one of our primary financial objectives,” CFO Ed Terino said in a statement. “Our efforts have resulted in a significant reduction of ATG's future cash commitments and a much improved financial position.”
Terino was not immediately available to discuss the company's presence in the three cities.
ATG specializes in software for commerce and customer self-service. Its licensees span several sectors and include Aetna Services, American Airlines, Best Buy, J. Crew and Sun Microsystems.
The firm is the latest that aggressively expanded during the dot-com boom. Last year, its Cambridge neighbor, Akamai Technologies, paid $15 million to break its Kendall Square lease.
A short time later, Akamai, a content delivery network, relocated to smaller space nearby at a lower rate.
