WIN moves further into Europe with acquisition of Swiss mobile content enabler Quattrocomm
Mobile entertainment and interactive services enabler, WIN PLC, has announced the acquisition of Quattrocomm AG.
Quattrocomm is a mobile content enabler focusing on managed rich-media content services for mobile network operators (MNOs) and content owners. The company, which has fifteen employees, is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, with subsidiaries in Berlin and Budapest. Quattrocomm’s former owners, Bjornar Jensen and Lasse Berner, will continue to manage the business; as well as seeking to extend its capabilities to WIN’s existing client base.
Quattrocomm delivers and manages portal solutions for thirty European MNOs; most significantly T-Mobile Germany, Vodafone Germany, debitel, O2 Germany, eplus, Mobilkom and the TeliaSonera Group. For T-Mobile Germany, for example, Quattrocomm manages its video download storefront and video aggregation as well as designing and operating its ‘Street Gigs’ live music promotion wap site.
Additionally, Quattrocomm works with leading rights holders to leverage their brands through mobile channels; including the distribution of FA Premier League alerts and video services through ten MNO portals across Northern Europe.
Graham Rivers, Chief Executive of WIN commented:
“Quattrocomm is an exciting addition to the WIN family, and the first acquisition in our strategy to extend our skills into fulfilling market needs for managing interactive media. We are now able to reach thirty European MNOs with our value proposition; with access to rich media content skills and assets that can be put to work immediately in our existing markets. In Bjørnar and Lasse, we are bringing in international managers with a proven track record in the European mobile content market over the last seven years. Quattrocomm has an outstanding low-cost, high-quality development centre in Hungary that can be leveraged into a global resource for the Group as we expand internationally. Its front-end technical solutions, including a powerful mobile portal engine that has already been integrated with the WIN platform, are state-of-the-art.”
Bjornar Jensen, managing director and co-founder of Quattrocomm commented:
“The future for MNOs and their core partners lies in rich media content, which requires them to bring on board partners with a strong content sourcing, adaptation and merchandising skill set. As we have built our business it has become increasingly clear that our MNO partners look for end-to-end solutions combining technical delivery platforms as well as content. Our skill set lies within the content area; we not only benefit from access to the robust platform technology WIN provides us, but we expect to add value to existing WIN client relationships through our expertise,”
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