NeoMedia invokes return policy on Mobot

FORT MYERS, Fla.-Like an over-indulgent holiday shopper, NeoMedia Technologies Inc. is headed to the returns counter.
The company jettisoned its Mobot subsidiary, selling the Lexington, Mass.-based mobile marketing company back to its founders. NeoMedia will retain an 18 percent stake in Mobot, which it acquired earlier this year for $10 million.
The announcement follows last month’s disclosure that NeoMedia will sell U.K.-based mobile software developer Sponge Ltd. back to its founders. Sponge also was acquired earlier this year, for a hefty $17.4 million.
NeoMedia, which recorded a $29 million third-quarter net loss, also plans to sell off its micro paint repair company and focus on its Qode product line. Like other barcode programs, the Qode system allows camera phone users to take a picture of an image and transmit the photo to receive mobile content or access a wireless Internet site.
“We have, as promised to our shareholders, continued to focus on qode while cutting back our burn rate and reversing substantial dilution,” NeoMedia head Charles Jensen said. “NeoMedia will continue to concentrate on developing and marketing its expertise on next-generation mobile applications and opportunities, especially for our qode direct-to-mobile-Web cell phone technology.”
Shares of NeoMedia, which have fallen steadily since July, climbed 25 percent on the news, gaining 1.5 cents to 7.5 cents each.