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Motricity acquires Adenyo for $100M to expand customer base

Motricity Inc. has completed its $100 million acquisition of mobile advertising, marketing and analytics service provider Adenyo Inc. to ramp up its operations in the United States, Canada and Europe.

Motricity paid approximately $49.1 million in cash and issued 3,277,002 shares of its common stock as consideration for the acquisition, and Adenyo will be entitled to receive up to an additional $50 million pursuant to a contingent earn-out, according to a document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Motricity?s integration of Adenyo?s capabilities into its software as a service platform, mCore, is geared toward expanding the company?s product and service offerings and available target markets. 

?The acquisition of Adenyo will further expand Motricity?s market reach and provide new revenue streams as we add agency and enterprise customers,? said James Ryan, chief strategy and marketing officer at Motricity, Bellevue, WA. ?The acquisition will build Motricity?s existing technology platform and increase the company?s capabilities specifically in the areas of mobile marketing, mobile advertising and analytics.

?Simply put, on a day-to-day basis it won?t affect our customers,? he said. ?What it will do is provide our combined customer base with the ability to fully leverage the mobile Internet as the landscape changes and as customers look to effectively market to their unique customer base. 

?We are acquiring Adenyo for their technology, extensive customer relationships and professional expertise ? the newly integrated team will continue to focus on growing the business as a whole, while adding mobile marketing, advertising and analytics to Motricity?s current platform.?

Mobile M&A
Through the Adenyo acquisition, Motricity is hoping to strengthen its position to capitalize on the robust growth of smartphone adoption and mobile advertising.

ABI Research has forecasted growth in the mobile marketing and advertising space, with global spend projected to reach $28.9 billion by 2014.

With the addition of Adenyo?s advertising agency and enterprise brand customers to its portfolio, Motricity has expanded its customer and revenue base.

Another objective for Motricity is enhancing the range of mobile data services it can offer to its carrier customers worldwide.

Adenyo clients include brands, media companies, ad agencies and carriers. It is focused on helping them to engage consumers through mobile advertising and marketing campaigns delivered via smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices.

Its clients include AT&T, McDonald?s, Coca-Cola, Ford Motor Co., Paramount Pictures, Garnier, Omnicom Media Group and Bouygues Telecom.

Since the transaction was initially announced Jan. 31, Adenyo has added Visa, Samsung and Kraft as new customers.

?This is part of Motricity?s ongoing strategy to provide innovative solutions to operators, agencies and brands, allowing them to monetize their offerings and leverage the unprecedented opportunity available in the industry today,? Mr. Ryan said.

?The acquisition of Adenyo gives us a much stronger presence with some of the world?s largest advertising agencies such as Omnicom and global brands such as Ford Motor Co., Visa and Paramount Pictures,? he said. ?The acquisition of Adenyo also positions us squarely in the smartphone market.

?It?s all about leveraging the mobile Internet to provide mobile marketing, advertising and analytics to any device or operating system including smartphones, tablets and feature phones.?

Final Take
Mr. Ryan