TOKYO AND SAN DIEGO - NTT DOCOMO, INC. (TSE: 9437; LSE: NDCM; NYSE: DCM) and San Diego, California-based PacketVideo Corporation, a subsidiary of NextWave Wireless Inc. (NASDAQ: WAVE) and a pioneer in wireless and digital home multimedia software and service applications, announced that DOCOMO has acquired a 35-percent stake in PacketVideo for $45.5 million. The all-cash transaction, effective immediately, is intended to strengthen DOCOMO's position in advanced music and video services in Japan.
The companies have enjoyed a productive partnership since 1998, enabling PacketVideo's technologies to be incorporated in multimedia applications for DOCOMO's FOMA™ 3G mobile network services. To date, PacketVideo's popular CORE™ multimedia player, pvPlayer™, has been installed in more than 90 DOCOMO handset models.
The strategic alliance will enable DOCOMO to enhance its music and video service offerings while augmenting the competitiveness of both companies. In particular, the strengthened partnership will facilitate the efficient joint development of PacketVideo's new technologies, ensuring a stable supply of increasingly advanced mobile applications technologies to DOCOMO.
Toshio Miki, Associate Senior Vice President, Managing Director of Communication Device Development Department for NTT DOCOMO, said: "PacketVideo has been a key supplier of software to DOCOMO and has made important contributions to the success of our services in the Japanese market. We are pleased to become an equity partner of PacketVideo and are very confident of the company's continued growth and long-term success."
James Brailean, Ph.D., CEO of PacketVideo said: "We are honored to welcome DOCOMO as an investor. We are building on our unique and highly successful relationship with DOCOMO to further strengthen PacketVideo's position in developing the best in class media experience, regardless of format or platform. PacketVideo is the global leader in delivering rich media solutions for mobile operators, and DOCOMO's support will enable us to accelerate our innovation and growth."
About NTT DOCOMO
NTT DOCOMO is the world's leading mobile operator and provider of advanced mobile services. The company serves over 54 million customers in Japan, including 48 million using i-mode™, the world's most popular mobile e-mail/Internet platform, and 49 million using FOMA™, the world's original 3G mobile service based on W-CDMA. As a leader in the development of cutting-edge mobile technologies, DOCOMO is continually expanding the role of mobile phones as versatile and highly personalized "lifestyle tools" for everyday life, including with a wide range of innovative services for mobile payments, GPS, mobile TV, multimedia content and much more. NTT DOCOMO is listed on the Tokyo (9437), London (NDCM) and New York (DCM) stock exchanges. For more information, visit www.nttdocomo.com.
About PacketVideo
Founded in 1998, PacketVideo is the software pioneer powering the world's leading multimedia services on millions of home and mobile devices. PacketVideo is a subsidiary of NextWave Wireless Inc. (NASDAQ: WAVE).
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