Wireless enterprise company Infowave Software announced it will acquire the assets of rival wireless enterprise provider HiddenMind Technology L.L.C., based in Cary, N.C.
The all-stock transaction, which involves Infowave issuing about 15 million shares for HiddenMind, also includes a $3 million private investment from HiddenMind’s controlling member. HiddenMind’s Jerry Trooien will purchase about 30 million Infowave shares and will also sit on Infowave’s board.
Following the completion of the acquisition and the private investment, HiddenMind and Trooien will collectively hold about 40 percent of Infowave’s common shares. Interestingly, HiddenMind and Trooien agreed to not “take any action to take control of Infowave” for at least two years, according to the company.
“By combining the application strength of HiddenMind with Infowave’s suite of wireless middleware solutions, we can now extend our value proposition to enterprise customers and deliver custom applications for their mobile deployments,” said Thomas Koll, Infowave’s chairman. “We will proceed quickly with integrating HiddenMind’s technology to mobilize applications, such as customer relationship management, sales force automation, enterprise resource planning and field services applications.”
HiddenMind offers technology to give mobile workers access to corporate information. The company’s customers include GE Financial Network, St. Jude Medical and CNET Networks.
Such consolidation in the wireless enterprise market has become commonplace due to the tightening economy and strained corporate budgets. Indeed, Nokia Corp. recently picked up wireless enterprise company Eizel Technologies Inc. Eugene Signorini, a senior analyst with The Yankee Group, said the wireless enterprise market has been slow to catch on, and smaller wireless start-ups have had a difficult time in the business.
