Linktone posts rival bid to acquire MonsterMob

Chinese wireless vendor Linktone Ltd. said it plans to make a competing offer for U.K. mobile content company MonsterMob Group Plc.
Spain’s LaNetro Zed has already made a bid to buy a majority stake in the company. MonsterMob shareholders are expected to decide on the LaNetro bid at MonsterMob’s shareholder meeting Feb. 23.
Linktone said if MonsterMob rejects the LaNetro bid, it will offer 0.3028 American Depositary Shares for each MonsterMob ordinary share.
MonsterMob has seen shares falling steadily for the past few months amid profit warnings and a front-office shakeup. The stock fell more than 21 percent in June as the company lowered forecasts and ousted CEO Martin Higginson, and MonsterMob’s value crumbled from more than $150 million to just over $58 million last month as new Chinese regulations for mobile-phone content threatened revenues.
MonsterMob’s content offerings include video on demand, interactive communities, ringtones, graphics and games.