The all-equity deal will combine Edgar Online's position as the leading provider of US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) public company XBRL filings and XBRL data, and UBmatrix's experience as the leading XBRL software provider to independent software vendors and major US and international regulators.

The UBmatrix client list currently includes the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Keane Federal Systems under contract to the SEC, Deposit Insurance Corporation of Ontario, Banque de France, the Belgian Tax Authority and major ERP vendors such as Oracle and SAP.

Regulators in Japan, China and Australia are committed to follow the US lead in introducing the reporting standard for public company data filings in their countries. The UK's Financial Services Authority abandoned a project to use XBRL in 2006 due to a lack of home-grown software and industry experience.

Under the financial terms of the agreement, Edgar Online will issue common and preferred shares equal to about 16% of its common stock. UBmatrix shareholders have agreed to invest an additional $2 million in cash through the purchase of additional Edgar Online preferred shares.

Philip Moyer, president and CEO of Edgar Online says: "The new company will be strongly positioned as a global leader in XBRL software, services and data."

Sunir Kapoor, president and CEO of UBmatrix, adds: "We expect this to ease adoption of the XBRL standard for organisations across the global financial information supply chain - from corporate filers and regulators to financial data providers and investors."

Under the terms of the agreement, UBmatrix is expected to initially operate as a standalone unit of the combined company, using its existing brand and under the leadership of Kapoor, who will serve as president of the unit. Barry Schuler, a director on the board of UBmatrix and former chairman and CEO of America Online, will join the board of Edgar Online at closing.