Transaction Network Services Inc. (TNS) said it plans to pay $50 million to buy Cequint Inc., a Seattle-based company that offers caller ID products to mobile operators. If certain targets are met, the purchase price could potentially be as high as $112.5 million.
The transaction is set to close in the fourth quarter. “TNS’ acquisition of Cequint, the emerging leader in mobile enhanced Caller ID, is a natural extension of our Telecommunication Services Division’s capabilities,” said Henry H. Graham, Jr., TNS CEO. “Combining our carrier-grade network and our identity and verification platform with the adoption of Cequint’s technology by tier-one mobile operators and OEMs will provide a very powerful offering that will extend TNS’ operator partnerships and enhance our ability to help these customers generate additional revenue, a key objective for us. We also add a highly experienced team of mobile industry veterans who possess impressive track records of application innovation and carrier-focused execution. Finally, we gain very strong product pipelines and development capabilities that dovetail with our long-term product road map as the mobile applications market expands.”
Transaction Network Services is an international data communications company that enables payments, money and voices, to move around the world.
“The pairing of Cequint’s handset software (and carrier relationships) and TNS’ line information database will allow them to offer a complete caller ID solution on the cell phone handsets. The key to me is the LIDB access – rather than rely on third parties, they have access to accurate name – caller ID data, so TNS should be able to leverage this with Cequint’s carrier relationships,” said Iain Gillott, president of iGR, a research company.