In its second major acquisition since going public last spring, Phone.com Inc. signed an agreement to acquire voice portal technology provider @Motion Inc. for $285 million.
Phone.com said it hopes to integrate @Motion’s Internet voice portal to add voice-recognition services to its MyPhone Wireless Application Protocol Internet portal service. In addition, Phone.com said it also will voice-enable its WAP-compliant UP.Link Server Suite.
In doing so, Phone.com said it hopes to offer virtual assistant, voice dialing, unified inbox and information site access services, all controlled by voice commands from a wireless phone.
“True mobile portals are more than just a re-formatting of PC-oriented Web content,” said Alain Rossman, Phone.com chairman and chief executive officer. “The MyPhone service will integrate powerful voice communication capabilities such as virtual assistant and unified messaging with spoken access to e-mail and information services. This acquisition will significantly expand Phone.com’s potential market by enabling any phone to access the mobile Internet via voice.”
Phone.com said it will employ @Mobile’s 40 employees, 30 of which are engineers.
Phone.com will fund the acquisition with about 2.25 million shares of Phone.com in a stock-for-stock transaction valued at about $285 million. It is expected to close in the first quarter.
Phone.com acquired Belfast, Northern Ireland-based APiON Ltd. in November for $239 million of stock.
Phone.com also announced that Canadian carrier Bell Mobility will deploy handsets containing the UP.Browser in the first quarter as part of its PCS Mobile Browser Internet service rollout.
Bell Mobility said it will add microbrowser-enabled phones from Nokia Corp., Samsung, Motorola Inc. and NeoPoint. The carrier offers Internet service access like e-mail, banking, directories and entertainment services to subscribers.
Products and services containing Phone.com technology have become increasingly popular in recent months, and the convergence between wireless and the Internet continues. Phone.com said its Developer Program has logged 26,000 registered developers worldwide since its inception. In the six-month period between June and December, registration increased more than 300 percent, the company said.
Matching this growth is the company’s Alliance Program, which saw membership jump 78 percent in the same time period.
Despite this trend, Phone.com stock has fallen dramatically in recent weeks. From an all-time high of $168.75 on Dec. 3, the company’s stock price has plunged to $99.81 at RCR press time.
Financial analysts have largely dismissed the downward momentum as a result of profit taking surrounding the highly successful stock. Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Marc Cabi reiterated his strong buy recommendation and said the lower share price represents a good buying opportunity for investors. He said he expects a positive first quarter complete with several new carrier customer announcements.
