2ergo, the AIM listed provider of convergent communication solutions, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Proteus Inc, a US based provider of mobile services to the North and South American markets. The Board believes this acquisition will mark another significant milestone for the Group, providing a solid foundation to launch its entire portfolio of solutions and services to the American markets.
 
Proteus will bring to the Group:

- An established and respected route into the US mobile market
- Direct US carrier connectivity
- A natural expansion to the Group’s current profitable US operations 
- Relationships with major US media companies including Disney, Fox and NBC-Universal
- Month-by-month profit contribution by end of financial year 2007

2ergo’s decision to make a US acquisition follows a long search to find the most appropriate avenue for North and South American expansion. The Group’s strategy has been to utilise its highly successful Multiserve Platform to leverage a competitive advantage in this rapidly growing market place, which it has now been doing since July 2004 through its subsidiary, M-invent Inc. The Board believes that the acquisition of Proteus not only reinforces 2ergo’s position within the American markets, but will provide a significant point of entry from which the Group can begin to roll-out its portfolio of products and services as the US market matures.

Proteus, which was a division of the Norwegian media conglomerate, Telitas Group, a subsidiary of the Japanese For-side, is well established in the US and Latin American mobile phone markets and has a number of blue chip clients including, Disney, Mastercard, Fox and NBC-Universal.

Established in 1996, Proteus has a strong track record in delivering interactive mobile solutions to support TV broadcasting, media events and mobile marketing. It is at the forefront of developing wireless products for everyone from carriers to broadcasters and has created personalisation, messaging and applications that have helped to set standards in the US mobile industry.

The Proteus acquisition will enable 2ergo to access every mobile user in the US, as it brings with it direct US carrier connectivity. This not only enables 2ergo to forge stronger relationships with the US carriers, it also allows the Group to deploy highly interactive mobile solutions, where response times are critical. By combining this with the highly modular and feature-rich capabilities of the Multiserve Platform, 2ergo believes it is in a strong position to capitalise on the excellent reputation Proteus holds within its market.

In South America, Proteus has established a presence through its office in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as well as carrier connectivity in Mexico. The Group expects to bring additional Latin American countries on line in due course.

The Board further believes the acquisition will enable 2ergo to make considerable inroads into the US mobile market, to cover key areas such as messaging, billing services, enhanced application provision and notably secure mobile communications, utilising its Patented secure mobile protocol; 2safeguard.
The Group is particularly interested in leveraging the technology from its recent acquisition, VICS, the specialist video encoding spin-out of Manchester University, by providing full mobile video functionality to the US market where data rates are lower than in Europe for handset users. The Group has noted that data usage is already at a much higher level in the US and believes its clients will have a ready market for high margin, data rich services such as music and mobile video.

Jeff Lee, President of Proteus commented, “As we sought to identify a partner to help Proteus profit from its great track record and reputation, we were most impressed with the the 2ergo team’s professionalism and serious intent to capitalise on the opportunities being presented to us in the US. We are delighted to be joining a world leader in the mobile space and look forward to leveraging their experience in Europe.”

Barry Sharples, joint CEO of 2ergo commented, “As we continue our strategy to expand our organisation into the US, adding one of the most advanced mobile phone communications companies to the Multiserve Platform considerably extends the value we are able to deliver to our partners and customers. We believe the North and South American mobile phone markets are set for tremendous growth over the next five years and we plan to capitalise on this growth while ensuring that our customers have access to ‘best of breed’ solutions in all areas of their communications.
 
“By working with Proteus over the past three months we have already found ways to restructure and reposition the company to bring it in line with the 2ergo operating philosophy. The company, which has invested heavily in its technology and infrastructure will now benefit from the 2ergo model and clear direction. The Board is confident of seeing month-by-month profit contribution from the new US business by the end of our 2007 financial year.”