Nokia has inked a deal to acquire Chicago-based mobile content company Novarra for an undisclosed amount of money.
Novarra’s technologies cover the mobile content ecosystem, including browsers, advertising and video. Nokia plans to launch a new service based on Novarra technology later this year.
“Connecting the next billion consumers to the Internet will happen primarily on mobile devices [and] delivering an optimized Internet experience on our devices is core to our mission,” Nokia Executive Vice President of Services Niklas Savander said in a statement. “By driving innovation in all segments of our portfolio, we are building one of the largest consumer audiences for Web services and content. Novarra’s Internet services technology delivered on the world’s most widely used mobile platform, Nokia’s Series 40, will help us achieve this.”
Novarra CEO Bruce Simpson said in a letter to shareholders that the company was “pleased” with the deal. Novarra said Nokia declared its intention to acquire the company on March 26. Novarra’s customers include Verizon, Vodafone and Yahoo!
The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of this year after customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions. Following the acquisition, Novarra will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Nokia.
“Over 10 years, Novarra has pioneered cloud-based technology to provide high quality, Internet services and applications on mobile networks and become the first choice for leading operators, handset OEMs and Internet brands,” Novarra COO Jayanthi Rangarajan said in a statement.
