ePublishing, which provides cloud-based CMS, e-commerce and CRM software, has agreed to acquire the Ellington CMS created by the Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World.

Journal-World parent company World Co., which commercialized the Ellington CMS six years ago through its Mediaphormedia division, said last month that it was re-focusing its efforts internally and had laid off 10 people working on the project. 

ePublishing CEO Thomas Chaffee said the company will provide "uninterrupted service" to Ellington CMS and Ellington Marketplace customers as they transition to ePublishing's cloud-based platform. [Disclosure: Chaffee is a contributing columnist for eMediaVitals.]

Here's the press release:

ePublishing To Acquire Ellington CMS And Ellington Marketplace

CHICAGO, July 10, 2012 – ePublishing, Inc., a cloud-based SaaS provider of integrated Content Management, eCommerce and CRM solutions announced an agreement, expected to be completed this month, to acquire the clients, staff and technology of Ellington CMS and Ellington Marketplace from The World Company's Mediaphormedia software division.

"With this announcement, our first priority will be uninterrupted service for all Ellington CMS and Ellington Marketplace customers," said Thomas Chaffee, CEO of ePublishing. "We look forward to continuing development, implementation and ongoing support as we personally welcome each Ellington customer to the ePublishing family."

"Online and mobile technologies are accelerating in sophistication and play an increasingly key role for media companies, who as a group have the absolute highest requirements," said Bill Fowle, Director of Digital Operations for The World Company. "Ellington has been a leader in the CMS space and transitioning our clients to the best possible service, technology, infrastructure and expertise was paramount. We found that in ePublishing."

Increasingly, media companies are realizing that Cloud Software as a Service business solutions are the best path to deliver more to advertisers and grow their enterprise value while achieving the necessary speed to recognize, adopt and capitalize on emerging revenue opportunities.

ePublishing drives profit for publishers with tools and services that empower a wide range of business models, leveraging new and broadly diversified income streams - creating deep reader engagement with contextual Content, Community and Commerce.

"Content consumption is changing rapidly and so must the technology that creates, drives and monetizes the online and mobile presence of today's media companies," said Chaffee. "We look forward to offering the marketplace a choice of two industry-leading technology platforms backed by our dedication to media industry best practices and obsessive 24 x 7 service and support."

"The top priority of both The World Company and ePublishing is to continue supporting our customers and making the transition for clients and staff both transparent and simple," said Fowle.

For more information, please visit www.ePublishing.com, Media Resources, FAQ or call Lou Bahin, ePublishing CMO, at 312.768.6868

About ePublishing

ePublishing drives profit for publishers and media companies with tools and services that empower users to create a wide range of business models, leverage new and diversified income streams and automatically generate deep reader engagement with contextual Content, Community and Commerce.

The company's primary product, an Enterprise Publishing System (EPS), is a fully integrated, Cloud-based Software as a Service backed by custom development, design and 24 x 7 support. Features include content management, community, e-commerce, social media, publishing workflow, audience management, SEO, video, advertising, blogs, e-mail newsletters, directories, data and user management/CRM.

About Mediaphormedia's Ellington CMS & Ellington Marketplace

Begun in 2000 as a business venture of World Co.'s Lawrence Journal-World, Ellington's feature-rich web CMS and local business search service Marketplace serves over 300 websites in North America and has helped clients amass a multitude of top industry awards.