SEATTLE-Dwango North America Corp. will no longer have to pay royalty or licensing fees to Japanese mobile content supplier Dwango Co. Ltd., the companies announced Friday.
Seattle-based Dwango said it has struck a trademark and technology separation agreement with its Tokyo-based counterpart that immediately releases the U.S. company from paying the fees. The agreement will not affect the day-to-day operations of the companies. Both companies are publicly held.
The U.S. company, which does business as Dwango Wireless, will unveil a new name by the end of the year. It also plans to re-brand its products and other assets as soon as possible.
Dwango Wireless hopes the move will give it some financial breathing room. In August, the content provider posted its second straight multimillion-dollar quarterly loss, and the company announced last month plans to slash its work force by 30 percent to cut expenses.
Investors continued to flee following Friday’s announcement, sending shares of Dwango down more than 20 percent. The stock, which was trading at more than $2 per share earlier this year, plummeted to 22 cents per share by mid-day Friday.
The publisher boasts wireless content deals with brands including Napster, Playboy and Rolling Stone.
