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DEALS |
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WHO |
WITH |
WHAT |
SCOOP |
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Verizon Communications |
MCI |
Verizon finally won MCI with its latest bid of $8.5B. |
This deal ends a three-month bidding war between Verizon and Qwest for the right to acquire MCI. The deal will also increase competitive pressure on smaller carriers like Qwest. |
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Sprint |
Intel |
Sprint and Intel announced a partnership to help develop WiMax broadband wireless equipment. |
Many insiders interpret this deal as a sign that Sprint is seriously considering 802.16e as an option for wireless data services. Some speculate that Sprint may use the mobile version of WiMax to compliment its 3G network. |
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China Mobile |
MTV |
MTV forged a mobile content partnership with China Mobile. |
MTV and China Mobile will launch MTV Zone, a mobile TV service that will distribute MTV branded content to China Mobile's subscribers. |
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For-side.com |
iTouch |
Japanese mobile content giant For-side.com agreed to acquire UK mobile content publisher iTouch for $343M through several deals. |
Independent News & Media agreed to sell its 37.4% stake in iTouch to For-side.com for roughly €100M in cash. For-side.com already controls 4.5% of iTouch. For-side.com plans to use iTouch's partnerships to expand its presence in the European mobile content market. For-side.com claims 12.5M users worldwide. |
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Cisco Systems |
Sipura |
Cisco agreed to acquire consumer VoIP technology maker Sipura Technology for $68M. |
Sipura provides consumer and SoHo grade VoIP technology for Linksys' line of VoIP networking devices. Specifically, Sipura develops analog telephone adapters and multiline IP phones. |
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Visto |
Vodafone, Rogers Wireless |
Visto inked mobile email partnerships with Vodafone and Rogers Wireless. |
Vodafone launched a new mobile push email service that will span Vodafone's networks throughout Europe. It also announced a deployment with Canadian carrier Rogers Wireless. Visto is a member of the 2004 FierceWireless Fierce 15, an annual list of the top emerging wireless companies. |
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SK Telecom |
Pantech |
SK Telecom sold 60% of its handset business, SK Teletech, to Pantech for approximately $299M. |
SK Telecom will maintain a 29.1% stake in SK Teletech, making it the company's second-largest shareholder. SK Telecom will maintain its strategic position with SK Teletech, working with the company to develop new mobile devices. |
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Samsung |
Kodiak Networks |
Samsung and P2T technology provider Kodiak Networks inked a deal to bundle Kodiak's P2T client on an undisclosed number of Samsung mobile devices. |
The phones will use Kodiak's voice platform, which uses push-to-talk-over-cellular (PoC) to enable a variety of premium, instant voice applications. No financial details of the deal were released. Kodiak Networks is a member of the 2004 FierceWireless Fierce 15, an annual list of the top emerging wireless companies. |
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RealNetworks |
Mr. Goodliving |
RealNetworks has entered the mobile gaming market by agreeing to buy Finland-based mobile gaming company Mr.Goodliving for $15M. |
RealNetworks expects to generate roughly $3M in additional revenue this year through the deal. RealNetworks entered the online gaming market in 2001 with its RealArcade brand. |
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Dodgeball.com |
Google agreed to acquire Dodgeball.com for an undisclosed sum. |
Dodgeball.com offers an online service that lets mobile users find one another for in-person meetings. |
