Motricity, a leading provider of mobile content services and solutions, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire the mobile services business unit of InfoSpace, Inc., a leading developer of mobile technologies and infrastructure services, for approximately $135 million in cash.
The acquisition expands Motricity's customer base to include 11 of the top 13 carriers in North America including AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile, Bell Mobility, Tracfone and Alltel.
DURHAM, N.C.-Motricity, a leading provider of mobile content services and solutions, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire the mobile services business unit of InfoSpace, Inc., a leading developer of mobile technologies and infrastructure services, for approximately $135 million in an all cash transaction. Carl Icahn and Advanced Equities, Inc. provided significant investments to lead the funding of the transaction.
Under the terms of the agreement, Motricity will acquire the mobile services division from InfoSpace, Inc. which provides managed services infrastructure for mobile carriers, including technology and services spanning mobile search, storefronts, portals and messaging services.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close within the next 90 days.
Upon closing, Ryan Wuerch will remain as Chairman and CEO of Motricity and Steve Elfman, current executive vice president of InfoSpace's mobile services business unit, will become President, Chief Operating Officer of Motricity.
The acquisition expands Motricity's customer base to include 11 of the top 13 carriers in North America including AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile, Bell Mobility, Tracfone and Alltel. Motricity's managed service infrastructure powers storefronts and communities for 9 of the top 13 carriers in North America and has generated over $1 billion of gross content sales to date. Motricity will also power 5 of the top 6 carrier "start screens" with its mobile portal product which will support billions of page views this year alone. The transaction enhances Motricity's FuelTM platform, which is a unified suite of solutions that includes content storefront, portal, search, community and messaging services. In addition, it expands Motricity's international presence by adding offices in the U.K., Paris, and the Netherlands and leading customers throughout Europe including Virgin UK, KPN and Vodafone.
"We're combining two of the best companies in the industry to create the premier provider of mobile platform infrastructure," said Ryan Wuerch, chairman and CEO of Motricity. "Between us, we have unparalleled experience in mobile platform development, systems integration, innovation and building world class technology with a proven ability to scale - powering the mobile marketplace including the largest operators and media companies in North America and Europe.
"This transaction offers tremendous value to our customers. Motricity is now a single source solution for mobile operators and media companies alike offering them the full range of services with our integrated, scaleable $FuelTM platform. An end-to-end platform is particularly valuable in a market where technology is converging and operators are seeking support across multiple media types.
"Perhaps the biggest differentiator of the combined company is that we offer unmatched insight into the mobile consumer," Wuerch added. "Together, we will be powering over a billion dollars in content sales generated from tens of billions of page views and user impressions and hundreds of millions of search queries in North America. This insight is invaluable for our partners. We'revery excited about this transaction and look forward to welcoming the InfoSpace Mobile team to Motricity."
"We're very excited to join Motricity," said Steve Elfman, executive vice president of InfoSpace's mobile services business unit. "At InfoSpace, we take great pride in the strategic, trusted role we play for our partners delivering the highest quality managed service solutions in the market. Motricity shares that vision and has a very similar operating philosophy.
"We've pulled together the brightest minds in the business and we're solving what is a very complex problem for our carrier and media partners. The combined company delivers a unified mobile media experience that spans the entire value chain - from search to portal to storefronts. We are extremely well positioned to continue to drive innovation in mobile on behalf of our partners."
Savvian, LLC is acting as financial advisor, Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Boult, Cummings, Conners & Berry PLC are acting as legal counsel to Motricity in connection with the transaction.
About Motricity
Motricity is a leading provider of mobile content services and solutions
that enable consumers to receive the right content at the right time,
every time. The company's offerings span the content delivery chain,
enabling compelling end user experiences and delivering profitable and
reliable mobile content offerings for mobile operators, media and
entertainment companies, mobile specialists and more. Motricity's
customers include seven of the top 12 mobile operators in North America
and 20 of the top television networks with marquee partners such as MTV,
BET, Turner, AT&T, Alltel, Bell Mobility and others. Products and
services range from mobile portals and storefronts to messaging
aggregation with access to more than 200 million mobile subscribers.
Motricity is headquartered in Durham, N.C., and has offices in Los
Angeles and Munich. For more information, visit http://www.motricity.com/.
About InfoSpace Mobile
InfoSpace Mobile is a leading developer of mobile technologies and
infrastructure services that help mobile users quickly and easily
discover and enjoy content and information on the go. InfoSpace's mobile
platform offers carrier partners a customizable, scalable solution for
the programming and delivery of mobile content, helping build stronger
brands and generate revenue. Mobile users benefit from InfoSpace's
easy-to-use mobile portal, search, messaging and storefront offerings.
The company's mobile products and services are available to over 200
million consumers through mobile operators such as AT&T Mobility,
T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, and Virgin Mobile.