According to insiders, CRM specialist Amdocs is acquiring mobile content enabler Qpass for somewhere in the range of $260 million to $280 million. Amdocs would not comment on rumors and Qpass could not be reached before deadline. Supposedly Lucent also made a bid for Qpass but dropped out of the bidding at the $240 million mark. (Coincidentally, Lucent is also rumored to be acquired by Alcatel today.) Amdocs is a somewhat unexpected suitor to Qpass as its business is largely focused on customer relationship management. But who doesn't want to get into the mobile content business these days? If the rumor proves true, the deal will undoubtedly be compared to VeriSign's recent acquisition of m-Qube, which fetched $250 million. These acquisitions are further evidence of a robust market for MoCo.
QPass' mobile content services enable the buying and selling of digital goods across mobile, VoIP and WiFi networks. The company manages the entire digital commerce transaction process from content sourcing, merchandising and delivery to billing and customer care. QPass' customers include Cingular, T-Mobile International, Vodafone, Sprint, Alltel and Skype. The company says it has processed more than 400 million premium downloads since it launched, which adds up to $900 million in gross retail sales.
Further insider reports claim that Qpass recently acquired Simplewire, a wireless messaging infrastructure company specializing in SMS aggregation. Simplewire powered Verizon Wireless' premium MMS services and has partnered with Sprint for a premium billing system still in beta.
Stay tuned to FierceMoCo for more information on this developing story.
1 comment:
Who are the advising banks to Amdocs?
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