2008-07-09 23:42:10 -
- Sovereign Wealth Corp. (OTC:SOVW) announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Multimedia Solutions, a South African based mobile marketing company. The agreement enables Multimedia Solutions to expand its operations internationally to high growth markets including Brazil, India, Asia and the United States of America.
Multimedia Solutions is a leading supplier of mobile technology in the South African market. It began by offering MMS (Multimedia Messaging Services) campaigns on behalf of network operators like Vodacom (jointly owned by Vodafone) and expanded its offering to other large corporations in South Africa. Multimedia Solutions clients include some of the leading retailers in South Africa and the company is currently doubling its revenue on an annual basis.
Multimedia Solutions then developed a range of other solutions including a platform to manage SMS and MMS campaigns, MMS boards at events, mobile websites (mobisites), a mobile business intelligence solution, a mobile ticketing solution, branded gaming and a detailed reporting engine. The company also provides clients with consulting services, thereby assisting them to integrate mobile marketing campaigns with traditional advertising strategies. Multimedia Solutions provides an end to end solution for brand owners who wish to take advantage of mobile platforms.
The Multimedia Solutions technology also enhances Sovereign Wealth's Digital Vouchers and mobile payment platforms, which are being used to launch a mobile phone and Internet based loyalty program in the United States.
"We are very excited by the platforms which have been developed by Multimedia Solutions because they provide a strategic fit for us in the mobile marketing value chain," said Michael Levinsohn, CEO of Sovereign Wealth Corp., who has just returned from a trip to South Africa.
According to Eddie Groenewald, Multimedia Solutions CEO, South Africa has proven to be a market leader globally in mobile technology because of the lack of PC and landline penetration into the South African market. "Mobile phones are the dominant form of communication device in South Africa. Multimedia Solutions has partnered with a wide range of corporate clients in South Africa to assist them in reaching their customer bases through mobile phones. The acquisition by Sovereign Wealth Corp. gives the company the added reach to begin expanding into international markets," he says.
Multimedia Solutions partners with its clients, assisting them in creating MMS campaigns which are used either internally (communicating a message to employees), or externally (in the form of advertising, a call to action or an educational message.) MMS messaging is one of the fastest growing sectors of mobile marketing worldwide. In the USA alone, Mobile Data Revenues in 2007 were up 53% year on year to $23 billion and US Mobile Advertising Spending in 2007 was $878 million, according to eMarketer. SMS and MMS messaging revenue of US Mobile Networks was $17.1 billion in 2007, also according to eMarketer
Sovereign Wealth Corp. is paying cash for the South African operations. The transaction includes profit warranties of $4 million over a defined period. Sovereign Wealth is applying to move its listing to the NASDAQ Capital Markets sector after the completion of a $3.5 million private placement. The management of Sovereign Wealth are subscribing for $1.5 million of the private placement in their personal capacities.
About Sovereign Wealth Corp.
Sovereign Wealth has identified high growth investment opportunities in the mobile marketing area and provides management support and funding to the businesses which it acquires in order to leverage the products and services of these businesses through cross selling opportunities. By identifying key components of the value chain in the mobile marketing sector, Sovereign Wealth has successfully started acquiring platforms which provide a range of services in the mobiles sector including SMS and MMS services, mobile content, mobile technology, payment solutions and related electronic distribution platforms. Sovereign Wealth will also look to license technology from international companies who have established a proven business model for mobile products and services.
The market for so called 3G mobile phone products and services is expected to remain buoyant for the foreseeable future. Revenue from voice traffic is flat in many countries and Average Revenue Per User has declined significantly as penetration levels reach saturation point. It is anticipated that the majority of traffic on mobile phone networks will soon be data as opposed to voice and mobile phone networks are investing in high speed services in order to capture market share. Sovereign Wealth intends building a capital base through which it can fund investments in companies which can partner with the mobile phone networks and brand owners in order to leverage the market for these 3G products and services.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENT: This press release contains forward-looking statements, including expected industry patterns and other financial and business results that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from results expressed or implied by this press release. Such risk factors include, among others: the sustainability of recent growth rates in the digital marketing industry, grow as anticipated; the positioning of Sovereign Wealth Corp. products in the market; ability to integrate acquired companies and technology; ability to retain key employees; ability to successfully combine product offerings and customer acceptance of combined products; general market conditions, fluctuations in currency exchange rates, changes to operating systems and product strategy by vendors of operating systems; and whether Sovereign Wealth Corp. can successfully develop new products and the degree to which these gain market acceptance. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements in this press release. Neither Sovereign Wealth Corp. nor any company mentioned in this release undertake any obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results.
Corporate Inquiries:
Sovereign Wealth Corp
Michael Levinsohn, CEO
Tel: 949-554-5505
mlevinsohn@gmail.com