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Mobile content powerhouse PlayPhone Inc., which has raised some $30 million in venture backing, has acquired London-based Pitch Entertainment Group in a deal that is expected to radically extend the reach of both companies.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Based in San Jose, PlayPhone sells mobile content for top entertainment companies through its Web site, and also licenses its technology to other companies that want to deliver games, ringtones, applications and other offerings. Among the companies that offer content through PlayPhone are Sega Corp., ABC Inc. and Lycos Inc.

PlayPhone, which primarily does business in the U.S., also provides content for Walt Disney Co., Sony BMG Music Entertainment, EMI Group PLC, Cartoon Network LP and Vivendi Universal Net SA, according to the company.

The acquisition of Pitch, another mobile content company, opens up the European market for PlayPhone, the San Jose company said. And Pitch, which has a foothold in more than a dozen European countries as well as in South Africa and the Ukraine, will get a crack at attracting American consumers.

"This merger takes us to the next level by allowing us to offer truly global and digital business to consumer initiatives with worthy client partners," Martin Bowley, chief executive of Pitch, said in a news release.

Neither company released further details about the acquisition on Thursday. While it was being billed as a merger, the deal was a full acquisition, said PlayPhone public relations manager Hugo Reyes.

According to VentureWire records, PlayPhone has raised about $30 million from Cardinal Venture Capital, Menlo Ventures and Scale Venture Partners in the past several years.

http://www.playphone.com
http://www.pitchentertainment.com

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