Ipoints bought by French rival Maximiles.com

Ipoints, the online loyalty programme, has been bought by its French rival Maximiles.com. The two companies have a combined membership of almost 2.5 million as well as more than 80 retail partners, including Blockbuster and Lloyds TSB. The French firm claims that the deal creates the largest online loyalty company in Europe. Both companies also offer e-mail and postal marketing services. The value of the all-cash deal has not been disclosed.