Tuesday, September 18th, 2007
Nokia buys mobile advertiser Enpocket, T-Mobile buys SunCom
From Staff Reports
Nokia Corp. (NOK) announced yesterday (Monday) that it will buy the privately held, Boston-based mobile advertiser Enpocket for an undisclosed amount.
Enpocket advertises to cell-phone users by displaying ads in downloaded video clips and text messages. It also generates user information such as location and key words searched to package high-response advertisements.
As more people access the Internet via cell phones, this advertising platform is a critical acquisition — expected to close by the end of the fourth quarter 2007 — that will add considerable scale to Nokia’s reach.
"This acquisition is a game changing move to bring the reach and depth of Nokia to organize the market across the world, and make it easier for an ecosystem to develop," Tero Ojanperä, Nokia’s Chief Technology Officer, said in a news release.
In other mobile phone news, T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE:DT), Europe’s largest phone company, will buy SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. (NYSE:TPC) for a total of $2.4 billion (cash payment of approximately $1.6 billion and the assumption of $0.8 billion net debt), or $27 a share — 23% more than its Sept. 14 closing price.
T-Mobile will get SunCom’s 1 million-plus customers in the Southeastern U.S., Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
News of the sale rocketed SunCom’s shares 3.65 points, or 16.59% during Monday trading. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2008, the companies said.
"The strategic fit of the SunCom operations will make this a near-perfect acquisition. It will round out our domestic footprint, allowing us to serve 98 of the top 100 markets, and will significantly benefit our financial position by reducing roaming expense," Robert Dotson, president and chief executive officer of T-Mobile USA, said in a news release.