Emblaze buys Israeli start-up Smart Content

Smart Content is a developer of technology for Content-Push over wireless and IP networks to mobile devices and PCs.

Globes correspondent 16 Jan 06 10:32

Telecommunications technology company Emblaze (LSE: BLZ) of Ra'anana has bought a majority stake in Israeli start-up software technology company Smart Content. Smart Content is a developer of advanced technology for Content-Push over wireless and IP networks to mobile devices and personal computers.
The precise size of the stake Emblaze is acquiring in Smart Content, and financial details of the deal, were not disclosed, but Emblaze said that "impact on cash from group reserves is negligible."


Emblaze CEO Eli Reifman said, "We have long been looking for an advanced content push technology to be embedded within our devices. I have no doubt that this is the future. The knowledge and skill-sets within this realm of expertise has come to fruition only over the past two years. The team that now joins our group is one of the top in the world with more experience and deep understanding of the push-content challenges than anyone we have met.

" This technology will become a part of our overall group offering already this year and we expect it to be pivotal in value creation and increase of group revenue and overall performance in the short and medium term.

"We are proud that we have succeeded in integrating original and winning Israeli technologies, such as Vcon recently and now Smart Content, into the Emblaze group. These technologies give the group an extraordinary competitive advantage, while for our part we expose these Israeli technologies to global markets, which benefit from the fruit of Israeli creativity."

Emblaze says it intends to drive Smart Content's FreeMate technology roadmap to be adapted into the mobile environment and physically embedded into Emblaze Mobile devices over the coming year. Smart Content will become part of the Emblaze group, and its name will be changed to Emblaze Smart Content.

Smart Content was founded in 2005 by Pini Greenfield, who serves as CEO of the company, Jacob Hochman, CTO, Ilan Noach CFO, and Navot Volk, R&D Manager. The company has eight workers, and, like Emblaze, is located in Ra'anana.

Smart Content already produces a free client using previous generation technology which is available to the general public for download and installation over any mobile device.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on January 16, 2006