News : Press Announcements
Press Announcements
mBlox Raises $25 Million To Accelerate Global Growth Plans
Sunnyvale, California - Feb 23, 2006
mBlox Inc., the world's largest mobile transaction network, today announced it has raised $25 million to accelerate its new product roll-out and extend its global footprint. The equity investment was led by new investor Trident Capital, a $1.5 billion Silicon Valley Venture Capital Fund, and supported by existing mBlox investors including BA Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, Novus Ventures and Avanti Capital Ltd.
mBlox provides message delivery and mobile billing services to businesses worldwide. As the only company to focus exclusively on providing a global mobile transaction network, mBlox has secured leadership in major markets including the United States and Europe, processing over 1bn mobile business transactions worth approximately $400M in 2005.
"mBlox captured the leadership position in the US and Europe for mobile transaction network services in 2005," said mBlox CEO, Jeff Clark. "In 2006, we will expand into new markets and introduce new products for our clients based on our understanding of our customers' needs. We are happy to announce this additional financing which will enable us to accelerate our growth plans, and we are proud to have Trident Capital invest in us and bring to us its substantial expertise in billing and payment transaction services."
"We are very pleased to participate in this new round of financing, which will help support the rapid growth of mBlox," said Managing Director of Trident Capital, Don Dixon." At Trident we invest in companies with a leading market share and world class customer service."
mBlox plans to use the funds for acquisitions in Europe and Asia, infrastructure advancements, and global expansion of mBlox's mobile transaction network services. The Company will continue to focus on the transmission, clearing and settlement of transactions on mobile phones worldwide, and abstain from engaging in the provision or promotion of content.
"This $25 million equity infusion and our continued support of the Company is a testament to the success of mBlox's pure play business model," said Robert Abbott of Norwest Venture Partners, mBlox's largest shareholder. "This latest financing will enable the company to expand more rapidly, while maintaining the highest level of service."
During 2005, mBlox extended its direct billing reach to 15 countries, launching new services in Australia, Canada, France, Ireland and Germany, and now has billing capabilities reaching over 400m mobile subscribers worldwide. mBlox also continued to work in close collaboration with the mobile operators to ensure an orderly and secure development of the premium-billed SMS market. In February 2005, mBlox announced a worldwide partnership with MasterCard to support its fraud alerting system, and the Company has seen strong growth in the financial services, transport information, enterprise messaging and entertainment alerts sectors. During the year mBlox also supported a number of worldwide fund-raising charity text appeals.
"The mobile content industry is undergoing rapid and exciting changes which benefit the consumer. Content is getting richer and even more accessible," said mBlox Executive Chairman, Andrew Bud. "Carriers are rolling out new services and capabilities, fortified by strong regulations, enabling consumers to confidently take advantage of these services. mBlox is committed to helping mobile operators and third party content providers bring these new offerings to market in a safe, secure and high quality manner."
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About mBlox Inc.:
mBlox is the world's largest mobile transaction network. Specializing in the commercial and technical complexities of mobile payment and message transmission, mBlox is in the business of connecting companies with customers. The result of this dedicated attention to messaging services is that mBlox delivers comprehensive and dependable SMS transport and financial settlement services. With an international network of offices, mature operator relationships and carrier-grade infrastructure, mBlox powers mobile business. mBlox is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California with EMEA headquarters in London and offices around the world. For further information visit www.mblox.com
Press Contacts:
Americas:
Peter Kojalo
+1 (617) 314-9726
peter@abelsongroup.com
EMEA:
Maria Hudson
+44 (0) 20 7608 2500
mblox@hotwirepr.com