Velti

Velti

Type	Former Public company
Industry	Mobile Marketing and Advertising
Founded	London, UK (2001)
Key people	Alex Moukas, Chief Executive Officer
Products	Velti Exchange
Services	• Mobile media planning • Mobile ad serving/ad routing • Mobile websites • Mobile applications • Mobile commerce • Mobile CRM • Loyalty solutions • Opt-in advertising • Large scale promotions for mobile operators
Website	www.velti.com

Velti is a mobile marketing and advertising company. In 2013 Blackstone acquired the assets of Velti and is currently operating under two brand names, mGage in the US, UK and India and Velti in the rest of the world.

History

Velti was founded in 2001 by Alex Moukas^[1] and Chris Kaskavelis^[2] as a software and ASP provider serving the telecommunications industry. The same year, Nicholas Negroponte, then the laboratory chairman of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, joined the company as a non-executive director. In 2002, Velti gained Vodafone as a customer. By the end of that year, the company had reached 35 employees.

After a 2006 initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange's AIM Market,^[3] Velti further expanded its U.S. operations with the opening of an office in New York. A San Francisco office was created the following year.

Beginning in 2007, Velti entered into a series of joint ventures and partnerships with the Interpublic Group to create Ansible, a mobile marketing joint venture.^[4]

In 2008, Velti opened a new office in Beijing and made an investment in CASEE.^[5] In India, Velti partnered with HT Media Limited, India’s second-largest media group, on a mobile marketing joint venture called HT Mobile Solutions.^[6] 2008 also saw the opening of a new Velti office in Moscow.^[7]

In 2009, Velti announced the acquisition of Ad Infuse, a provider of personalized mobile advertising in the U.S. increasing the company’s headcount to more than 400, including more than 200 technology staff.^[8]

In 2010, the company announced the acquisition of Mobclix,.^[9] A second 2010 acquisition added Media Cannon,^[10] a developer of mobile advertising tools and technology. By the end of 2010, Velti had grown to more than 500 employees in 30 countries.

In January, 2011, Velti completed an initial public offering of 12 million common stock shares on NASDAQ under the trading symbol VELT. The IPO raised approximately $150 million.^[11]

Financial troubles and bankruptcy

In late summer 2013, Velti was forced to write down nearly $111 million from Q2 2013 revenues, laying off nearly 200 employees and placing Mobclix on the chopping block to raise spare cash. These actions led to a stock nosedive to mere pennies a share, while rumors of bankruptcy swirled.^[12]

On November 4, 2013, Velti files for bankruptcy protection.^[13]

On December 16, 2013, Velti de-listed from the Nasdaq market after declaring: "The voluntary decision to delist from NASDAQ was taken following the Company's review of several factors, including its previously disclosed noncompliance with the minimum bid price requirements of NASDAQ. Also among these factors is the Company's inability to satisfy questions raised by NASDAQ concerning its ability to maintain eligibility for continued listing on NASDAQ following completion of its proposed sale of its mobile marketing business, as well as the Chapter 11 proceedings for certain of its U.S. subsidiaries and the Chapter 7 filing of Mobclix." ^[14] Velti shares are now traded on the OTC market. ^[15]

References