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MUMBAI:
Motorola has acquired Soundbuzz, the privately held pan-Asian
music provider founded by Sudhanshu Sarronwala.
The
acquisition, which is subject to customary conditions, is
expected to close in the first quarter of 2008. Terms of the
transaction were not disclosed, says an official release.
Motorola
has been delivering mobile music to consumers with its carrier
customers in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan through its Motomusic
service. The acquisition of Soundbuzz will allow Motorola
to expand the service beyond China, into India, Southeast
Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
With
well over 90 per cent of all digital music content in Asia
sold via mobile channels, Motorola's strength in music delivery
will help its carrier customers access this growth opportunity,
the release says.
Soundbuzz's
multi-region music delivery platform enables the purchase
and distribution of digital content through over-the-air and
wired broadband connections. The company's end-to-end system
includes subscriber management, content management, payment,
client software and media delivery technologies. The company
maintains a consumer-facing brand, Soundbuzz, and will continue
to provide "white-label" services to carrier customers
that offer tailored solutions for multimedia delivery.
According
to Motorola's senior VP (future solutions and technology for
mobile devices) Bill Werner, "This transaction with Soundbuzz
will provide Motorola with one of the most extensive music
libraries in the Asia Pacific region, advance our music and
video offerings in Australia and South East Asia, and build
on the success of our Motomusic services in China."
"Motorola's
dedication to enhancing the digital music experience in Asia
complements our own objectives and makes it the ideal partner,"
says Soundbuzz CEO Sudhanshu Sarronwala. "This combination
will help us extend our platform and create exciting growth
opportunities for Soundbuzz's employees and our partner music
labels."
Headquartered
in Singapore, Soundbuzz has access to one of the most extensive
music libraries in the Asia-Pacific region, through licenses
from Sony BMG, EMI, Warner Music International and Universal
Music Group, as well as over 45 independent record labels
in Asia, the U.S. and Europe.
Motorola
intends to maintain Soundbuzz's Singapore headquarters, which
will be an integral component of Motorola's digital music
development strategy in Asia.
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