Phunware Buys TapIt Media Group

AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwire - Jan 2, 2013) - Phunware, the leader in enterprise branded mobile application infrastructure and experiences, today announced that it has acquired TapIt Media Group, a leading global independent mobile advertising company. Phunware purchased TapIt for a total purchase price of $23M and the acquisition closed formally on December 28^th. The transaction was unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors for both companies and Phunware assumed all TapIt facilities and employees in both Irvine, California, and Rockville, Maryland, at closing.

"TapIt by Phunware" -- a branded mobile advertising network and Mobile-as-a-Service (MaaS) monetization module for iOS and Android mobile applications -- will represent the core of Phunware's cloud-based MaaS Advertising mobile platform. With more than 30,000 active publishers, TapIt maximizes mobile monetization through a comprehensive advertising product suite inclusive of self-service media buying, real-time bidding (RTB), publisher mediation and yield optimization, cross-platform ad creation and dynamic ad serving. TapIt currently supports more than six billion ad impressions per month in more than 220 countries worldwide.

"We are extremely excited to add further breadth and depth to the existing global scale of our core MaaS platform product offerings," said Alan S. Knitowski, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Phunware. "The TapIt acquisition and the talent and expertise represented by its employee base will not only accelerate our operational velocity to start 2013, but it will also cement our leadership position as the dominant 'mobile cloud' provider globally."

In today's mobile world, brands, publishers, advertisers and application users all demand excellence in every facet of the global mobile ecosystem. Point and partial solutions will soon give way to fully integrated solutions that can exceed the needs and requirements of demanding mobile audiences around the world. Phunware brings the "mobile cloud" to the forefront of this new anytime, anywhere world by enabling highly engaging experiences across multiple touch points that fulfill the appetite of increasingly sophisticated audiences while simultaneously solving the underlying operational and monetization headaches of those required to reach, engage and delight them. The future of mobile will be defined by those who understand and embrace the power of these fully integrated global solutions across client, server and content to deliver audiences whatever they want, whenever they want it, wherever they are, on their devices of choice, in their languages of choice, at scale.

"We are honored to become part of the Phunware family, as our combined mobile platform offerings will add operational value, insight and control to both advertisers and publishers alike," said Giancarlo Maniaci, Co-Founder and CEO of TapIt Media Group. "With the velocity of adoption and maturation of mobile increasing daily, we strongly believe that fully integrated, easy to use, simple to deploy and all inclusive mobile platforms like Phunware's MaaS will soon define both 'best of breed' and the new global mobile standard."

Phunware customers include the NFL, NASCAR, CBS, NBC Universal, The CW, ESPN, E!, OWN, Univision, Demand Media, Circuit of the Americas, The Grove, NHRA, Daily Candy, Qualcomm, Samsung, Freescale, AMD, HomeAway, McDonald's, Turner, Discovery and FUNimation amongst many others both public and private. Through the acquisition of TapIt, Phunware has also added additional customers including M&C Saatchi, Disney, Toyota, Amazon, EA Sports, MSNBC, Rovio (Angry Birds) and many others both domestically and abroad.

Siemer & Associates was advisor to TapIt Media Group on the transaction, while Phunware was self represented.

About Phunware
Phunware is the global pioneer of Mobile-as-a-Service (MaaS) -- the only fully integrated services platform that enables brands to engage, manage and monetize users on mobile. Phunware has introduced category defining experiences that have challenged the outer limits of the most advanced mobile devices for the world's most respected brands. For more information, visit Phunware at www.phunware.com or follow us on Twitter at @Phunware. Everything you need to succeed on mobile™.

About TapIt Media Group
TapIt!™ is a leading global independent mobile advertising company. With advanced technology and proprietary tools, TapIt!™ is dedicated to serving our agencies, partners, brands and advertisers alike to accomplish successful mobile executions. We are obsessed with meeting the needs of application developers seeking to maximize ad revenue and leverage our unique line up of ad units, growing demand and unprecedented service. With an emphasis on Brand Performance, TapIt!™ focuses on the metrics and goals that make our partners successful. Mobile developers can visit clients.tapit.com to find out how they can make more by monetizing their applications with TapIt!™. For more information, visit TapIt!™ at www.TapIt.com or follow us on Twitter at @TapIt!media.