Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has acquired a 7.4% stake in video ringtone maker Vringo Inc. (AMEX: VRNG-U ), owning 1.03 million shares, according to Vringo's filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He paid $2.5-3 million, based on the share's closing price on Friday; the share subsequently rose 18% in after-hours trading.
According to FactSet Research, the acquisition makes Cuban the largest shareholder in Vringo. The second largest shareholder is hedge fund Iroquois Capital LP with a 6.4% stake.
Vringo develops mobile video, personalization and social-application platforms. In February, the company said that its Facetones app, a visual ringtone based on pictures from a user's friends, reached one million downloads.
Cuban, a colorful character in the US high tech world, made his fortune with Broadcast.com, which he sold to Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) for $5.9 billion at the height of the dot.com bubble. He bought the Dallas Mavericks in 2000; the team achieved its first ever NBA championship in 2011. "Forbes" estimates Cuban's fortune at $2.3 billion, putting him in 459th place in its 2012 billionaires list.
Vringo's share price rose 1.3% on Friday to $3.04, giving a market cap of $42 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 15, 2012
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