Amobee Media Systems Ltd. is on a roll, announcing large contracts in rapid succession. Today, the company announced that it has completed a $12 million strategic financing round from telecommunications giants Telefonica SA (NYSE; IBEX:TEF; LSE:TDE) of Spain and Vodafone Group plc (NYSE; LSE:VOD) of the UK. The move is unusual - the two companies do not normally collaborate on investments or invest in start-ups
The announcement follows a slew of agreements, beginning with the commercial launch Amobee's mobile advertising service with Vodafone Czech Republic. This was followed by commercial launches wtih Telefonica subsidiary O2 in the UK, Vodafone Spain, Vodafone Greece, as well as in Italy and the US. More launches with tier-1 telecommunications operators are expected shortly.
Amobee has developed an advertising campaign management system for customizing ads for subscribers via all types of media: video and music clips, WAP, SMS and MMS, and games.
Amobee CEO Zohar Levkovitz declined to comment about the financing round, but said that the capital was not essential for the company. "We haven’t yet used up the money from our previous financing round. However, even though the cellular advertising media is being hyped up, it will take time to mature and realize its projected potential."
In a press release, Vodafone said that Amobee was chosen to be a major partner in the field of cellular advertising.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 28, 2007
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