ROK gathers $7M ahead of IPO

ROK Entertainment Group Ltd. said it has raised $7 million from unnamed European investment firms to prepare for an initial public offering.
The U.K.-based developer of mobile entertainment services and technology said it will use the cash to expand its offerings and plans to deploy 30 subscription-based mobile TV services by the end of the year. ROK offers 20 channels of free mobile video to U.S. mobile users through a WAP-based service as well as a place-shifting device dubbed the ROK Box. The company also operates an online storefront that delivers mobile content via memory cards.
“We have achieved a great deal in the mobile entertainment space over the past few years and have grown the company to some 150 staff worldwide-all through private funding,” said CEO Jonathan Kendrick. “This injection of cash will see us step up yet another gear in our global deployment of our mobile TV services and our other major applications and technologies, before we IPO later this year.”