MUMBAI: China's wireless internet company Tom Online Inc is acquiring a wireless entertainment company Infomax with the maximum valuation capped at approximately $75 million.
Through the acquisition, Tom Online will gain access to Infomax's extensive TV distribution network which reaches out to millions of Chinese households. This acquisition is expected to further strengthen Tom Online's leadership in China's wireless Internet market.
Following the acquisition, significant synergies between Infomax and Tom Online are expected to be created in the coming years. Tom Online has proven and pioneered the integration of TV and wireless media as a new way to inform and entertain Chinese consumers with the purchase of Treasure Base in 2004. By combining Tom Online's own industry leading service platform with Infomax's strong TV operator relationships and experience, the company believes the acquisition of Infomax will produce yet more benefits in the areas of product diversification, operational efficiency and content sharing.
Through its unique relationships with TV operators and other entertainment companies, Infomax has been providing wireless interactive products and services to China's national TV audience since 2003. Tom Online management believes the purchase presents tremendous synergy potential for enhancing Infomax's existing product portfolio given Tom Online's leadership in SMS, WAP, MMS, CRBT and IVR services.
Tom Online CEO Wang Lei Lei said, "The achievements accomplished by Tom Online in the wireless Internet market today are not only the results of our ability to continuously innovate, they are also the results of our solid working relationships with mobile operators such as China Mobile. With that as a foundation, we work hard to build the most comprehensive and multifaceted distribution network in the SP industry, and focus on formulating strategies to develop entertainment and sports-related products. In the TV media alone, we have accumulated a vast amount of content cooperation experiences through our partnerships with more than 200 TV stations. I believe, with the addition of Infomax, Tom Online will be able to further enhance its TV distribution network, which in turn will help promote the growth of our entertainment services."
Besides TV alliances, Tom Online's extensive distribution platform also brings many media partners from print, radio and the Internet, as well as audio and visual distributors and handset manufacturers. Through its acquisition of service provider Treasure Base in August 2004, Tom Online became the exclusive wireless content partner of China's most watched sports channel.
