Acquisition Expands Geodesic’s Mobile VAS Offering; Further Enhancing Appeal with Mobile Carriers and Handset Vendors.
Today Geodesic Limited (BSE: 503699, NSE: GEODESIC), a leading provider of award-winning mobile and desktop communication and entertainment solutions, including instant messaging, VoIP, SMS over IP, Internet radio and video, announced that it has acquired Interactive Networks Inc., a South America-based software provider of advanced instant messaging and value added solutions. The acquisition expands Geodesic’s global footprint beyond India, Europe, Asia and the U.S. and into South America and Africa. Under terms of the agreement, Interactive Networks becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of Geodesic.
Interactive Networks specializes in providing comprehensive messaging and collaboration solutions to enterprises and mobile operators. Using Interactive Networks’ IM platform, operators can offer PC and Web IM clients to both subscribers and non-subscribers, enabling two-way conversations with any mobile phone on their network through SMS and MMS (multi-media messaging) services. This flexible IM platform provides mobile subscribers with a comprehensive IM experience, including the ability to send and receive PC-cell and cell-PC text messages, voice clips, photos and more, while carriers gain increased customer loyalty and SMS traffic through the creation of a closely-linked user community. Interactive Networks can now expand its suite of product offering to telecommunications carriers by including the Geodesic suite of entertainment and communication products as part of their portfolio. Interactive Networks has implemented its solution with 12 major carriers across South America, Africa and Asia.
The combined offering of Geodesic’s award-winning Mundu IM suite with Interactive Networks’ advanced IM solutions enables Geodesic to:
- expand beyond the retail and consumer markets in order to make further inroads into the mobile carrier and enterprise markets
- offer certified IM solutions that specifically support mobile carriers’ and handset vendors’ needs
- provide carriers and handset vendors with a broader product portfolio all under one roof
“The acquisition reflects Geodesic’s commitment to providing the most innovative Web and mobile value added services that help our customers to boost revenues and ARPU,” commented Arvind Venkateswaran, Geodesic’s senior vice president and general manager for its wireless business. “Through this transaction, Geodesic also acquired Interactive Networks’ development team, a group that brings extensive mobile VAS experience and that will help us to further serve our expanding global customer base.”
According to Pablo Salomon, CEO of Interactive Networks, “Geodesic is an ideal company to join forces with. We share a similar vision of providing the most cutting-edge mobile services that support the rapidly growing market demand for mobile IM and mobile-based social networking services.”
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Revenue from mobile social networking and user-generated content is forecasted to grow to $70 billion in 2012. The inherent need to stay connected to the growing social networking generation has been a catalyst for a growing number of mobile handset manufacturers from Asia and Europe to bundle Geodesic’s Mundu products as part of their shipment and service.
“From the onset we recognized that Interactive Networks had a winning combination of people, technology and market opportunity. We’re delighted that Geodesic also identified the market potential of Interactive Networks’ advanced instant messaging products. We are very pleased to see one our portfolio companies join forces with a market leader like Geodesic,” said Pablo Brenner, Partner of Prosperitas Capital Partners, the venture capital firm that initially funded Interactive Networks.
About Interactive Networks, Inc.
Based in Montevideo, Uruguay, Interactive Networks has been developing and selling innovative instant messaging solutions since 1999. The company specializes on secure private instant messaging solutions for enterprises, private label IM solutions for internet services and IM solutions for mobile operators.
About Geodesic Limited
Geodesic is an innovator in software products focused on Information, Communication and Entertainment for mobile phones and desktop computers. Headquartered in Mumbai, India, Geodesic's Mundu suite of award-winning products includes solutions for Instant Messaging, Voice-over-IP and Internet Radio. The company is listed on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange in India. Geodesic has offices in Mumbai and Bangalore in India, USA (Silicon Valley), UK, Sweden, Mauritius, Germany and Hong Kong.