VELTI RAISING £10M FOR EXPANSION IN BALKANS AND TURKEY
By Maija Palmer,IT Correspondent
FT
April 10 2006 03:00
Velti, the Greek mobile phone technology company, will on Monday
announce plans to list on London’s Aim in a move expected to raise
£10m in new money and value the company at up to £35m.
The company, whose financial backers include Nicholas Negroponte, the
founder of the MIT Media Lab, is planning to use the funds to increase
its presence in the Balkan and Turkish telecommunications markets.
Velti provides software and services that allow mobile phone operators
– including Vodafone Greece – to track and manage the content that
their subscribers access. It also provides technology for media
companies wanting to offer content or run promotions over the mobile
phone network. Velti currently works with mobile phone operators
and content companies in Greece, Turkey, Armenia and Cyprus but is
planning to expand its business into Romania and Bulgaria as well as
deepening its penetration in Turkey.
Alexandros Moukas, chief executive, said it was an optimal time to
enter these markets.
Mobile phone penetration in the Balkans is still about 60 per cent,
lower than levels in the rest of Europe, but growing quickly.
Both Vodafone and OTE, the Greek mobile phone operator, have signalled
plans to expand in the region.
Velti, which was founded in 2000 and employs 90 people, has seen
recent strong growth. Revenue rose 31 per cent to â~B¬4.9m (£3.4m)
in 2005 while pre-tax profit jumped from â~B¬29,000 to â~B¬1.1m.
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