Smartner’s attempts in our last issue to deny that it was looking for a buyer look a little hollow now following the announcement that the company has been bought by rival mobile email company Seven.
The combination of Seven and Smartner joins their respective US and European areas of expertise, giving Seven a customer base consisting of 45 operator across 30 countries, with a combined total addressable market of over 360 million mobile subscribers. Additionally, SEVENnow has licensing agreements with the top five handset manufacturers — Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Samsung and Siemens.
The acquisition also extends customer support for all mobile device platforms, including support for 100 shipping handset models.
“With this acquisition, SEVEN is well positioned to quickly take advantage of the growing demand for both individual and enterprise mobile email solutions,” said Kent Thexton, president and CEO of SEVEN. “Smartner has a significant presence in Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and strong relationships with the leading device manufacturers as well as leading channel partners such as Ericsson.”
“There are obvious synergies between Smartner and SEVEN’s technologies, and there is great potential that the market will benefit from the blending their innovations,” said Roger Entner, vice president, Wireless Telecom, of Ovum’s North American practice. “The market for mobile email and office solutions is growing rapidly and there is a significant untapped opportunity for the newly created Seven.”
The combined company will operate under SEVEN’s brand, with headquarters in Redwood City, USA and regional headquarters in Cambridge, Helsinki, Singapore; and Tokyo. Â
Kent Thexton will continue as CEO and Paul Hedman, Smartner’s CEO, will be responsible for EMEA and APAC as managing director.