Buongiomo acquires iTouch for $192M

Buongiorno S.p.A. stepped up its spending spree, agreeing to acquire U.K.-based content provider iTouch plc for $192 million.
The Italian mobile content and advertising behemoth said it will pay $176 million to iTouch shareholders and absorb $16 million of the company’s net debt. The combined companies will have 1,100 employees in 20 countries, Buongiorno said.
“The mobile VAS (value-added services) market continues to offer major opportunities for development and requires increasing size and global scale,” said iTouch CEO Wayne Pitout, who will oversee mergers and acquisitions as a Buongiorno board member. “The joint entity will be the pre-eminent player in the sector globally, leading the way in the 3G revolution which is reshaping the traditional mobile content and services sector.”
ITouch was acquired by Japanese mobile giant For-side.com two years ago for $343 million, and the company bought itself back earlier this year for a reported $100 million. Oak Investment Partners and Goldman Sachs led the financing for the buyback and will become shareholders in Buongiorno under terms of the deal.
Buongiorno is a major player in the worldwide mobile content space, hawking ringtones and other goodies through Blinko.com and other online storefronts, and the company is aggressively moving into mobile advertising with several recent acquisitions. It recently expanded its content business with acquisitions in China, India and Russia, and has picked up several mobile marketing companies in the United States and Europe.