Software giant to take sole control of MSN Israel; dissolves partnership with Internet Gold.
Microsoft is to take sole control of MSN Israel, the Internet portal it currently operates in partnership with Israeli ISP Internet Gold, the firms announced at the weekend.
It seems that Microsoft will acquire Internet Gold’s 50.1% share in the venture for an undisclosed sum, to give it 100% ownership of the portal.
The companies did not publish further details, simply stating that they are currently “discussing the terms of migration and possible future cooperation”.
According to various local press reports, the transition will take place by October.
“We have been happy to partner with Microsoft in establishing MSN Israel over the last eight years,” Eli Holtzman, CEO of Internet Gold, said in a statement.
“Given the change in the parties’ online strategies we have agreed it makes sense for Microsoft to operate msn.co.il independently. We believe this is the right move for both parties and anticipate it will have a positive impact on our results,” he added.
Indeed, the move backs up Microsoft’s strategy of having majority control of all its MSN portals. MSN operates in 44 countries worldwide, and in most cases its local operations are 100%-owned by Microsoft.
“Our relationship with Internet Gold has worked well to establish strong foundations for our online business but both parties now feel that the time has come to operate independently to allow us both to deepen our impact on the Israeli market,” said Danny Yamin, general manager of Microsoft, Israel.
“We are very excited about our future in Israel and see some fantastic opportunities for growth and development of both the MSN portal and the Windows Live services,” he added.
Meanwhile, Internet Gold was keen to play down the importance of MSN Israel to its business, noting that the portal accounted for less than 3% of its total revenues last year.
Internet Gold reported revenues of 1.18 billion shekels (US$306 million) in 2007, up 188% on-year, although the bulk of that increase was attributable to the merger of 012 Golden Lines into the company’s Smile.Communications brand. On a pro forma basis, revenue growth was 6.6%. The company posted net income of 158 million shekels ($41 million), up from 26.3 million shekels in 2006.
012 Smile.Communications provides broadband and fixed-line services to business and consumer customers. Following its IPO in October 2007, Internet Gold owns 72.4% of 012 Smile.Communications.
Internet Gold’s portfolio of Internet portals and e-commerce sites, including MSN Israel, is held via its wholly-owned Smile.Media unit.
“During the last few years, the Internet Gold Group has significantly expanded its activities in a variety of communications areas and, as a result, our MSN Israel operations currently represent a minor portion of the group’s total revenues,” said Holtzman.
“Thus, we have decided recently to change course and seek alternatives for growth,” he concluded, adding that Internet Gold would seek opportunities “in and out of Israel”.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Israeli company Koor Industries has expressed interest in acquiring a minority stake in CDMA network operator Tata Teleservices. According to a statement by Koor filed with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, it has sent a non-binding letter of intent expressing its interest in investing USD577 million in Tata Teleservices. It acknowledged, however, that there was ‘no certainty’ a deal would be reached. Tata is reported to be aiming to raise over USD1 billion by selling up to 30% of the company to private equity firms and other investors. Tata had over 22.4 million wireless customers at the end of 2007.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Media Layers, the pioneer in rich-media mobile advertising solutions, and Cellcom, Israel’s leading mobile operator with over 3 million subscribers, announced today a multi-year contract for implementing Media Layers’ SMART solution for mobile advertising over Cellcom’s content services.
Media Layers’ SMART system was chosen by Cellcom and Logia and is already deployed in Cellcom’s network. Advertising over mobile video services will be launched in the coming days, and this will be expanded to additional content services and channels.
Adi Cohen, Cellcom’s VP Marketing, commented on the contract with Media Layers: “Mobile advertising is still in its early phases, but we see its importance in addressing the need in the market for a broader variety of business models, and we consider it to be a substantial future growth engine.”
Kobi Marenko, Logia’s CEO, added: “Mobile advertising is critical in turning mobile content services from a niche to a mass market offering. Media Layers’ SMART system provides an excellent infrastructure for this move. It addresses Cellcom’s and Logia’s needs in full, and creates a rich, relevant and effective experience for the mobile subscribers.”
Noam Man-El, Media Layers’ CEO, commented: “We are thrilled with the opportunity to work with Cellcom and Logia in building the next generation of mobile services. This contract is a substantial milestone for Media Layers, and strongly validates our product strategy – a cross-channels mobile advertising management solution based on a real-time approach, providing users with personalized and relevant ads.”
Media Layers’ SMART system is uniquely based on a real-time approach, enabling mobile operators and content providers to insert mobile ads into all content channels, with strong support for rich media – video clips, audio clips, banners and more. In video, the cutting edge of mobile content, SMART provides for ad insertion in multiple fashions – before, during or after viewing the chosen content; in a split screen; as an overlay (picture in picture); and in various other methods. Additionally, the matching of ads to the users is done in real time, thus presenting each and every user with relevant ads which are perceived as valuable and which lead to a high return on investment for the advertisers.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
- November 12th, 2007
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Ericsson has been chosen by Israeli operator Pelephone to deliver a new W-CDMA/HSPA network. Under the one-year contract Ericsson will deliver radio base stations and soft switches which will allow Pelephone, a wholly owned subsidiary of Israeli fixed line telco Bezeq, to offer its customers national 3.5G coverage.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
- October 26th, 2007
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Nokia Siemens Networks has launched an acquisition bid for US-based global Carrier Ethernet equipment manufacturer Atrica, continuing its investments in the development of solutions and products for data-optimized networks. No financial details were disclosed The acquisition will allow Nokia Siemens Networks to offer end-to-end Carrier Ethernet The 180 Carrier Ethernet specialists at Atrica will continue their work as part of Nokia Siemens Networks. Atrica’s main strengths are an end-to-end Ethernet solution know-how with a portfolio including Ethernet, CPE and EGDE products as well as an associated services provisioning platform. Atrica is the first company to be acquired by Nokia Siemens Networks and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California (US) and with a development center in Tel Aviv (Israel). The acquisition is expected to take place before 1 January 2008 and is subject to customary regulatory approvals, the completion of standard closing conditions, and the agreement of a number of detailed implementation steps.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
- October 18th, 2007
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Israeli mobile operator Pelephone Communications and video and mobile advertising specialist Media Layers will launch a pilot of real time ‘video-in-video’ mobile advertising. Media Layers’ Smart platform will enable Pelephone to offer its mobile TV users content price plans in exchange for their exposure to mobile video ads targeted at their specific profiles. The Smart platform will enable Pelephone to present its subscribers with media ads before, during and after chosen content, either as an overlay, split video image, or other options. Media Layers’ Smart service provides operators with a framework for managing the full advertising cycle, while maximising the value of mobile ad space. Ads for this pilot will be provided by Grey Interactive and Mobi, two of Israel’s mobile and interactive advertising agencies.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News Mobile Advertising
- September 10th, 2007
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Israeli wireless network operator Cellcom has selected Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) to develop its next generation network (NGN). The new equipment will allow Cellcom to offer its subscribers fixed-mobile convergence whereby they can enjoy the same services with either fixed or mobile access. A core and broadband access network, including a SURPASS softswitch and hiX5625 multi-service access nodes, will be delivered by the vendor.
Cellcom Israel, the largest mobile phone operator in the country with more than 2.9 million subscribers, recently acquired licences to offer fixed line voice and data services. Following a rigorous and extensive review of offers, Cellcom chose NSN because of the high quality of its products and services, as well as its solid experience in NGN solutions worldwide.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
- August 23rd, 2007
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Israel’s largest cellco by subscribers, Cellcom, reports that second quarter revenue rose to USD343 million from USD326 million in the corresponding period last year, while net income jumped from USD30 million to USD50 million. The cellco cited subscriber growth and a reduction in operating expenses as being the main drivers behind the results.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
AT&T’s Alaskan subsidiary AT&T Alascom has launched its first WiMAX wireless broadband network. The network has been deployed in the city of Juneau as part of a state-wide initiative to expand broadband internet services using WiMAX technology. The equipment was supplied by Israeli vendor Alvarion. More details on WiMAX deployments can be found in WiMAX Market Tracking Service.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
According to Israeli Daily The Globes, the Knesset is planning the launch of a tender for the sale of WiMAX concessions from 1 October 2007. The newspaper writes that the Ministry of Finance is proposing that only companies with less than a 25% share of the telecoms market will be allowed to participate in the tender, meaning that the country’s three largest cellcos -Cellcom, Partner and Pelephone - would be excluded from participating. The exclusion is driven by the fear that they would acquire the wireless broadband frequencies just to keep them out of the hands of competitors, thereby harming competition. The decision to allow Israel’s fourth wireless network operator - MIRS Communications - to participate in the tender is important in that it could enable it to develop a network that would be capable of challenging its competitors’ 3G networks.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Microsoft to go it alone in Israel
