LOS ANGELES—Xero Mobile Inc. found a buyer, inking a deal to sell “substantially all of its assets and liabilities” to newly formed Advanced Mobile Communications Inc.
The mobile virtual network operator—which has yet to launch service—said it will receive an undisclosed amount of newly issued shares of common stock of Advanced Mobile under terms of the deal. A Xero spokesman described Advanced Mobile as “a newly formed company looking to capitalize” on the white-hot mobile marketing playground.
The acquisition may be Xero’s efforts to distance itself from its former owners and dubious history. The company, which touts patented technology that automatically bills advertisers based on the number of marketing messages viewed by users, has already been the subject of an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission; Xero executives have consistently been linked to Gizmondo, a controversial, U.K.-based gaming company that went bankrupt in February.
Advanced Mobile appears to have no Web site, and no other information on the company was immediately available. The Xero spokesman declined to say whether Xero’s management was otherwise involved with Advanced Mobile.
“We believe that this arrangement is in the best interests of Xero shareholders,” Xero Chief Executive Officer Roger Davis said in a prepared statement.
Shares of Xero, which are traded on the over-the-counter market, were largely unchanged following the announcement, losing about 1 percent and trading at 52 cents per share.
