Online auction technology company Bid.com is establishing its European headquarters in Dublin. The US Nasdaq-quoted company plans to employ around 12 people here by the end of the year. This is only the second such investment the company has made outside the US and it is understood the initial capital investment will be more than $1 million (€1.05 million).
According to Mr Mark Wallace, Bid.com chief operating officer, it chose Ireland to host its application services for Europe because it offered the right "fit".
"Ireland has done a terrific job creating a critical mass of technology companies and partners for potential investors. It has developed a very good name for application service provider (ASP) hosting into Europe."
The company will initially locate its premises on Baggot Street, but plans to move to a Dublin-based digital business park by the end of the summer.
Europe currently accounts for more than a third of Bid.com's revenue base, which was 31 million Canadian dollars last year. It employs a total of more than 70 people.
The Irish operation will be headed by Mr Aidan Rowsome, who also takes on the role of president of Bid.com Europe.
Bid.com is now focusing all its operations on providing auction technology software for developing websites. Its products enable dynamic pricing on websites, including ascending price auctions, declining Dutch auctions, fixed price and reverse auctions.
