Software infrastructure company VeriSign Inc. announced a $273 million acquisition of German wireless content company Jamba!, a move VeriSign said would add wireless content distribution, billing and transaction technologies to its offerings to wireless carriers.
“We are very excited about the strategic value of this acquisition,” said Stratton Sclavos, VeriSign’s chairman and chief executive officer. “By joining forces with Jamba!, VeriSign gains a robust content mediation platform, relationships with 13 European carriers, sourcing arrangements with over 180 content providers, and a solid, growing customer base in a key geographical market.”
VeriSign recently unveiled its new Intelligent Communication, Commerce, and Content (IC3) strategy, which the company said provides carriers with the intelligent infrastructure services they need to help their customers “find, connect, secure and transact over any network, anywhere.” VeriSign said the acquisition, which will consist of 65-percent cash and 35-percent stock, will also support its plans to expand its portfolio of wireless services and to further penetrate tier-one carriers and international markets.
VeriSign said it will gain 300 full-time Jamba! employees, and the acquisition will generate about $70 million in net incremental revenue in the second half of this year.
The move is the latest in a long series of major acquisitions in the wireless content space.
