News
12/12/2007 - CallGenie Buys PhoneSpots for $5.75 Million
Voice services and platform provider CallGenie announced that it has acquired mobile ad exchange and directory assistance content provider PhoneSpots, which was formerly PocketThis. The announced acquisition price was $5.75 million (mostly stock). The acquisition is expected to close in early 2008 and gives CallGenie additional partner relationships and a powerful ad platform to offer a much more comprehensive solution to the marketplace.
PhoneSpots has been around since 1999 and pioneered the “send to mobile” feature now in widespread use on local search sites. PhoneSpots originally offered enhanced results (additional content and links) from directory assistance queries when users opted to receive them as text messages. Its relationships were primarily in Europe. Most recently PhoneSpots announced its first US customer relationship with AT&T, to power the YellowPages.com “send to mobile” feature and the company’s YP411 SMS platform.
PhoneSpots built a sophisticated platform that is compatible with a wide range of phones and mobile “modalities.” The company can deliver enhanced content and ads in text messages or to mobile browsers and can support local search ads/content that originate via voice search/directory assistance, text queries or WAP search. In addition, as a mobile ad exchange, PhoneSpots will seek to provide enhanced local search content and geotargeted advertisers to mobile publishers that want to monetize their lookups and content and don’t have direct advertiser relationships.
The customer base of CallGenie, after the acquisition, includes:
• North America: 1-800inAcity, 1800SanDiego, CellWand, HSN / IAC, Ingenio, RHDonnelley, Say Hello, Telus, Verizon, Verizon Livesource, Yellowpages.com, Yellow Pages Group
• Europe: Eniro, Opplysningen, Orange, Ahhaaa AB, SNT Trefzeker, Telegate, TeleGreenland, Le Numero
• Rest of World: Batelco, Du, Etisalat, Newsphone, Omantel, Telecom Egypt
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