Mace acquires online marketer for $10.5 million

Mace Security International Inc. today said it has agreed to acquire online marketing company Linkstar Interactive for $10.5 million in cash and stock.

Mace, of Mount Laurel, makes the self-defense spray of the same name, and owns car washes. "We see significant opportunities for growth by combining Linkstar's online expertise and technology platform with Mace's unique consumer products," Mace president and chief executive officer Louis D. Paolino said in a prepared statement.

The transaction is expected to close on July 20, Mace said.

Linkstar, of Wexford, Pa., employs about 30. It had approximately $12 million in annual sales in 2006, and projects 2007 sales of $24 million, according to Mace's announcement.

Separately, Mace said yesterday that it received notice from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel that the company can keep its stock listing on the Nasdaq Global Market. Its ticker symbol is MACE.

The company had earlier this year received a delisting notice from Nasdaq for failing to timely file financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission - delays prompted by a fraud investigation involving one of the company's division controllers. New internal controls have been implemented, and the SEC filings were completed earlier this week, Mace said.