VeriSign has agreed to acquire Jamba, a Berlin-based
wireless content and services provider, for $273m in cash and
stock.
The acquisition is expected to close by the end of June and is
subject to German regulatory approvals.
Jamba will be integrated into VeriSign's Communications Services
group, which provides network, database, billing and content
services to thousands of wireless and wireline telecommunications,
said Stratton Sclavos, chairman and chief executive of VeriSign. A
majority of VeriSign's customers are in the US, including AT&T
Wireless Services and SBC Communications.
Jamba's acquisition is part of VeriSign's growth strategy in
Europe, Sclavos said. The German company provides content
distribution and billing services to 13 wireless carriers in nine
European countries, including UK-based Vodafone Group, Germany's
T-Mobile International and the Netherlands' KPN.
Jamba has amassed a database of more than 50,000 downloadable
songs, graphics, games and applications, which are distributed to
European cellular phone users through 180 content publishers,
Sclavos said. "Jamba provides over 80% of the downloadable music
and graphics for the Vodafone Live service," he said, adding that
digital-content downloading was heating up as an industry.
Of the $273m, VeriSign will pay to Jamba 65% in cash and 35% in
stock. About 300 Jamba employees will join VeriSign as part of the
transaction.
Agam Shah writes for IDG News Service