SingTel to Buy Ad Network Amobee

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Singapore Telecommunications will buy Amobee, a U.S. mobile ad network, for approximately $321 million. The deal is a first step into mobile marketing for SingTel, which offers wireless service to 434 million customers in Asia and Africa.

"The mobile advertising market is nascent and has significant potential for mobile operators, who are able to provide differentiated solutions across smart phones and feature phones, giving brands a better return on their marketing spend," Allen Lew, CEO of SingTel's Group Digital Life unit, said in a statement.

Amobee, founded in 2005, is based in Redwood City, CA. The management team including CEO Trevor Healy will continue to run the company from that location, the companies said. In 2010 it bought London-based mobile firm Ring Ring Media.

In addition to standard mobile ad representation and sales, Amobee offers retail and point-of-sale solutions using QR codes, Bluetooth, and near-field communication (NFC) technologies. In a recent campaign for travel app HotelTonight, Amobee integrated NFC downloads with out of home placements.

Lew continued, "This expansion into the mobile marketing industry is part of our strategy to increase our share of the digital consumer wallet and will allow us to shape the digital ecosystem."