Seattle.internet.com first reported yesterday that Seattle-based Singingfish.com was acquired by giant French multimedia company Thomson Multimedia. Today, we bring you an exclusive interview with Singingfish.com's CEO Mike Behlke.

But first, here's a little background:

The Singingfish.com acquisition comes as part of a larger move announced yesterday by THOMSON multimedia to form a new business segment called Digital Media Solutions that will provide key infrastructure products and services to the entertainment and media industries.

Singingfish.com specializes in identifying, categorizing and indexing streaming media and downloadable media files on broadband networks and the World Wide Web. The company currently employs 45 people in the Seattle area. The company will continue to operate out of its Seattle office.

And now, our exclusive interview:

seattle.internet.com: Can you share with us some of the background that led up to the acquisition (i.e did it involve a lot shuttle flights between Seattle and Paris)?

Mike Behlke: The intitial meeting actually occured in Las Vegas this past April during the annual NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) convention. One of our investors tipped us off that Thomson was actively in the process of identifying key strategic partners and that search was to play a central role. We tracked down a high-level Thomson consultant who happened to be at the show and who was anxious to meet with us. Several follow-on meetings occured here at our Seattle office, culminating with a meeting last week in New York with Thomson Chairman Thierry Breton. But I'm brushing up on my French just in case.

seattle.internet.com: Can you disclose any of the deal's financial terms at this point?

Mike Behlke: Not at this point except to say that it's an all-cash deal and that we expect to dot the i's and cross the t's before the end of the month.

seattle.internet.com:How will the acquisition effect your Seattle operations and the direction of the company?

Mike Behlke: Not only does this union send us into hyperdrive, we get to stay right here in Seattle with no change in management or direction whatsoever. We even get to keep our name - at least for the immediate future.

seattle.internet.com: What advice would you give to dotcoms that are also thinking about taking the acquisition route?

Mike Behlke: Obviously each situation has to be judged on its own merits. For us, Thomson was the perfect acquirer in that their vision for the future of digital media and the convergence arena was the very same vision upon which Singingfish.com was founded. It was an extraordinarily strategic move on our part. The benefits so outweighted any potential drawbacks that the decision was surprisingly simple.

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