Born to be Wireless

Microsoft, in the middle of a bid to acquire Yahoo, has announced that it will acquire Danger Inc., the company behind the Sidekick mobile device. The Palo Alto-based mobile software company filed in December to raise up to $100 million in an IPO. But the company has been losing money and its fortunes are tightly tied to the success of the SideKick and its agreement with T-Mobile. The firm will become part of Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices division. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Release.

Danger has raised about $142 million in total VC funding since 2000, including a Series E round in late 2006 at a post-money valuation of approximately $187 million, reports PEHub. Shareholders include Mobius Venture Capital (17.6%), Redpoint Ventures (14.8%), T-Mobile (12.6%), Softbank Capital (12.7%), Motorola (11.2%), Meritech Capital Partners (7.8%) and VSP Capital (6.2%).

Labels: acquisition

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Even though Microsoft has its own wireless product on the market, Windows Mobile, the giant tech company may want to snap up RIM in order to ward off other competitors. Apple Inc., with its iPhone, and Google Corp., with rumours of a new device, are both threats to dominate the wireless space Microsoft covets.

While RIM is one of the largest companies in Canada, analysts think it would be a breeze for Microsoft to purchase. Microsoft has a market capitalization of $266.7 billion US and had $34 billion in cash and short-term investments on hand at the end of fiscal 2006. RIM's market cap totaled $48.95 billion Cdn at Thursday's close, making it the fifth most valuable company in Canada but a reasonable meal for the software goliath.

"The amount (Microsoft) would pay for RIM is a little pimple on a hippo's ass," one analyst said.

Waterloo, Ont.-based RIM declined to comment on the rumours, as did Microsoft.

RIM stock closed at $87.71, up 91 cents for the day, after reaching as high as $89.68. At its peak, the stock was worth more than $50 billion for the first time.

Peter Misek, an analyst at Canaccord Adams, thinks an outright sale is unlikely but argues a partnership agreement would make sense.

Such a deal would be an about-face for Microsoft, but it would put it well ahead of Apple and Google in the mobile-device race and give RIM access to content such as television shows, games and movies.

RIM's popularity has made it the subject of takeover rumours before, with Nokia often appearing as the predator. Motorola has also surfaced as a potential buyer, but RIM's size likely puts it out of reach.

Misek said this is the first time Microsoft has been kicked around as the rumoured suitor.

He said any potential buyer would have to pay a 50-per-cent premium and have co-founders Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis on board.

"I don't see them as sellers," he said. "Would you sell if you are just absolutely crushing it, and you still think you're not even half done?"

source: Financial Post

Labels: acquisition, blackberry, microsoft, RIM

Mobile gaming company Digital Chocolate has bought operations and studios in Bangalore, India, and Barcelona, Spain, from Small Device Mobile Technologies and Microjocs Mobile, respectively. These buys will give the company expertise to develop localized content for consumers in southern Europe and Asia, it said. The terms were not disclosed.

Small Devices is a mobile apps porting expert, and will be merged with DigiChoc’s Catapult porting technology. Microjocs is a mobile games production studio. DigiChoc is based in San Mateo, CA and was founded in 2003 by EA founder Trip Hawkins. More here.

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Vivo Participacoes SA, Brazil's largest mobile-phone company, will fill a strategic gap in its coverage of South America's biggest country with the purchase of Telemig Celular SA and Tele Norte Celular Participacoes SA.

Vivo said yesterday it agreed to buy controlling stakes in wireless operators Telemig and Tele Norte for 1.2 billion reais ($640 million). Vivo agreed to buy 22.7 percent of Telemig's stock and 19.3 percent of Tele Norte.

The purchase gives Vivo a stronger presence in Minas Gerais, the country's second-richest state, and the northern states of Amapa, Roraima, Amazonas, Para and Maranhao. Telemig has 3.54 million clients in Minas Gerais, and Tele Norte has 1.29 million clients in the Amazon region.

Vivo's lead over rivals Telecom Italia SpA and America Movil SA has shrunk in the past year. Sao Paulo-based Vivo is jointly controlled by Portugal Telecom SGPS SA and Madrid-based Telefonica SA, which have discussed a possible end to their joint venture since Telefonica backed a failed hostile bid for Portugal Telecom this year.

33 Percent Share

Buying Telemig and Tele Norte will add 4.8 million subscribers, bringing the company's total to 35 million, or 33 percent of the national mobile-phone market, Vivo said. Telemig has a market share of 30.4 percent in Minas Gerais, while Tele Norte has a 22 percent market share in the Amazon region.

Vivo, which is controlled by Portugal Telecom SGPS SA and Madrid-based Telefonica SA, will make follow-up offers to buy the rest of Telemig and Tele Norte, and will pay 2.9 billion reais if those offers are fully accepted.

Telefonica shares rose 11 cents, or 0.6 percent, to 17.62 euros at 10:49 a.m. in Madrid. Portugal Telecom shares fell 3 cents, or 0.3 percent, to 10.15 euros.

Tele Norte common shares surged 37 percent to 1.95 reais yesterday before the announcement. Telemig rose 3.2 percent to 11.4 reais.

Labels: acquisition, Vivo

Nokia Corp. announced today that it has bought an online photo- and video-sharing start-up in the latest of a series of acquisitions to expand beyond cellphones into Internet-related services in search of new sources of revenue.

The world's largest maker of cellphones by sales and market share is acquiring Twango Inc., a closely held Redmond, Wash., media-sharing Web site. The exact size of the deal isn't clear, but it is expected to be less than €70 million ($96.8 million), a person familiar with the matter said.

Last month, Mr. Kallasvuo announced a restructuring of the Espoo, Finland, company to carve out a new unit focused on growth opportunities from Web-related services. Under the reorganization, to take effect Jan. 1, Nokia will divide its cellphone business into three units: mobile devices; services and software; and a markets division responsible for managing Nokia's supply chain, as well as sales and marketing.

Twango was founded in 2004 by five former Microsoft Corp. senior managers and has 10 employees. Unlike some larger, better-known competitors such as Yahoo Inc.'s Flickr photo service and Google Inc.'s YouTube video Web site, Twango works with a range of media, including photos, video and audio. Co-founder Serena Glover said pairing with Nokia will give it access to distribution and resources. Inc.'s Flickr photo service and

Nokia, which is likely to rebrand the Twango service, plans to incorporate software into its phones to ease sending content between phones and the Internet. Twango's service is free, but Nokia plans to add elements for which customers will have to pay. The handset maker has agreements with Flickr and Six Apart Ltd.'s blogging service, Vox, which handles video, to ease uploading photos and videos from its phones. Nokia plans to continue these relationships in order to provide choice for customers.

Labels: acquisition, nokia, twango

Ubisoft Entertainment has sold its 18.89 percent stake in French mobile gaming firm Gameloft reports AFX. The final sale price for the 13.37 million shares was 6.08 Euro per share, for a total of about $111 million. to Credit Agricole's corporate and investment bank unit Calyon, and has signed an equity swap deal with the bank,

Under the equity swap agreement, Calyon has 24 months to sell the Gameloft shares on the market. Any changes in the Gameloft share price will then be recorded by Ubisoft, so the deal will only affect Ubisoft's income statement when Calyon sells the Gameloft shares. Ubisoft said the equity swap enables it to stagger the placement of the Gameloft shares so that Ubisoft can keep benefiting from the company's development potential over the next two years.

The two companies said they will continue to collaborate, especially when it comes to utilizing Ubisoft's brands on mobile phones. More info in release.

Mobile-Ent: The move ends an historic association that began when Gameloft was created as a wholly owned subsidiary of the French company in 1999. Over the years its stake has reduced to just under 20 per cent, although the Guillemot brothers that founded Ubisoft retain a private holding. More on Gameloft's history in this Wikipedia entry.

source: MoCoNews

Labels: acquisition, gameloft

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“Bringing cross-platform mobile development capabilities in-house is a key component in our growth strategy,” said Kelly Flock, executive vice president of worldwide publishing at THQ. “The combination of Universomo’s award-winning creative development skills and their proven porting solution will enable new technology efficiencies for THQ Wireless, giving us the scalability to focus on building both our cornerstone brands and new, owned properties across Europe, Asia and North America.”

“THQ’s global publishing footprint and leading brand portfolio made them a natural fit for Universomo,” said Universomo Managing Director Markku Hakkala. “The easy integration of Universomo’s development and technology means that we are on track to take full advantage of continued market growth opportunities worldwide.”

Labels: acquisition, mobile games, THQ, Universomo

Microsoft has agreed to buy ScreenTonic, a company that specialises in delivering location-based ads to mobile devices.

ScreenTonic's platform, called Stamp, enables delivery of text or banner links on portals, ads in SMS (Short Message Service) messages and ads in mobile web pages that vary depending on where the reader is located.

The platform includes a manager component, which can handle monitoring, billing and reporting, and a server that delivers ads according to certain criteria, according to ScreenTonic's website. It also has a sales component for developing and selling ad campaigns.

The acquisition of ScreenTonic is part of a long-term strategy to deliver relevant ads to consumers, Microsoft said. ScreenTonic said it has also worked with Apple, Nokia and Nike, in addition to European telecommunications operators in the UK, Belgium and France.

Last year, ScreenTonic announced it had gained €5.5 million (£3.8m) in new funding from investors 3i Group and I-Source Gestion, while also opening a subsidiary in London.

Microsoft and ScreenTonic officials were not immediately available for comment on Thursday morning. The companies did not disclose the terms of their deal.

source: PC Advisor

Labels: acquisition, microsoft, mobile ads, screentonic

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Mobile content publisher Twistbox Entertainment announced its acquisition of all assets related to beleaguered mobile media firm InfoSpace's Atlas Mobile gaming studio. Financial terms were not disclosed. Known for its Play for Prizes solution enabling multiplayer tournaments, loyalty campaigns, in-game advertising and prize fulfillment, the Atlas studio and its properties will be fully integrated into the Twistbox Games platform. In conjunction with the announcement, Twistbox also introduced three new games: "SuperSlyder for Prizes," "Card Player Poker for Prizes" and the intriguingly-titled "Take Yer Meds for Prizes."

For more on the Atlas acquisition:
- read this release

Labels: acquisition, games, mobile