Infospace has exited mobile, selling its mobile services business unit to Motricity.
Under the terms of the agreement, Motricity will acquire all of Infospace’s mobile services operation, including search, storefronts, portals and messaging services. The deal was done for approximately $135 million in an all-cash transaction.Upon closing, Ryan Wuerch will remain as chairman and CEO of Motricity and Steve Elfman, current executive VP of InfoSpace's mobile services business unit, will become president and COO of Motricity.
The purchase effectively ends Infospace’s participation in mobile. It was once a giant of the content scene, having bought ringtone giant Moviso and games developers Iomo, Atlas and Elkware. Last year it closed or sold them all and exited content publishing. This left just the services unit.
Motricity, meanwhile, surges on, using its Fuel platform to power content storefronts, portal, search, community and messaging services. The Infospace acquisition expands its customer base to include 11 of the top 13 carriers in North America, including AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, Bell Mobility, Tracfone and Alltel. Motricity will also power five of the top six carrier ‘start screens’. It also expands its international presence by adding offices in the UK, France and the Netherlands.
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