In October 2002, Vicinity Corporation and Microsoft Corporation entered into a definitive agreement, pursuant to which Microsoft would acquire Vicinity in a transaction valued at approximately $96 million. The transaction was structured as a cash merger, in which Vicinity shareholders would receive $3.33 in cash in exchange for each share of Vicinity common stock. Vicinity Corporation provides Enterprise Location Services to Global 2000 companies across Web, wireless, and speech platforms, enabling businesses, governments, and agencies to market the local availability of their products and services. It turns location information into a source of knowledge, and embed location intelligence into the fabric of the organization. The company’s customers include various companies in the retail, hospitality, food and beverage, shipping/transportation, automotive, and financial services industries. Its competitors include AOL/MapQuest, Microsoft, Maporama, InfoNow Corporation, InfoSpace, MapInfo, Where 2 Get It, Inc., and Switchboard.