NEW YORK-Two U.S. subsidiaries of Japanese mobile-content conglomerate For-side.com Co. Ltd. have integrated operations in what may be a first step toward an initial public offering.
Zingy Inc., which offers ringtones and other mobile music, said it has merged with sister company Vindigo, a developer of wireless lifestyle applications. Zingy said the move allows it to market the spectrum of wireless offerings including personalization and entertainment content, information services and community-based applications.
“The combination of Zingy and Vindigo creates a true broad-based mobile media company,” said Fabrice Grinda, Zingy’s founder and chief executive officer. “Zingy remains profitable following the acquisition, and we are experiencing strong growth across each of our business groups.”
But the merger may also pave the way for For-side.com to go public with its subsidiary. The conglomerate has said in company documents that it plans to expand its North American operations with an IPO of one or more of its U.S. subsidiaries. For-side.com also owns MusiKube, a wireless music-identification software developer.
A Zingy spokesman said the company had no immediate plans to go public, but said an “IPO option is always open.”
