February 26, 2012 – Barcelona, Spain – Boost Communications AS has raised EUR 3.3 million in investor funding from the Norwegian state-owned venture capital fund Investinor AS and the private venture capital fund Norsk Innovasjonskapital III AS (NIK III).
– Boost Communications was established in 2000, which makes us a seasoned player in the mobile web and marketing space. As the market is maturing, we want to position ourselves to take a leading role in this rapidly growing market, says Founder and CEO Øystein R. Skiri.
The new investors are the state-owned venture capital fund Investinor and the private venture capital fund Norsk Innovasjonskapital III (NIK III), led by TeleVenture Management. Boost Communications had a turnover of EUR 3.3 million in 2011, an increase from EUR 2.8 million in 2010.
– With EUR 3.3 million available in fresh capital, we have the chance to really position the company as a leading international player. For twelve years, we have built the organization organically and have been very cautious. Despite this, we have been able to reach the same goals as some of our competitors, who have received millions in funding along the way, continues Skiri.
The Boost Communications group consists of three companies; Boost Communications with a 50.1% stake in Boostcom Media and a 100% stake in Boost Advertising. Boost Communications has developed and is operating mobile websites and portals for major companies from around the world, such as Al Jazeera, FC Barcelona, The Times, Polaris Media and Telenor. Boostcom Media powers the customer loyalty clubs of some 100 shopping malls in the Nordics. The group’s newest addition, Boost Advertising, has a self-serve tool, Madmaker™ – the do-it-yourself mobile ad maker. It allows anyone to create mobile campaign sites ‘in less than 5 minutes’, with no technical
or design skills needed.
The two venture funds have a combined stake of 38% in Boost Communications.
– We have been watching Boost Communications for one and a half year now, and believe that the company can take a leading role in mobile marketing internationally. They have been able to achieve their goals this far, but need access to more capital to become the international success they have the potential to be. We want to take a part in that journey, says Managing Partner and Founder Rune Rinnan of TeleVenture Management managing NIK III.
– This is one of the most exciting companies in the mobile web and marketing space, which is a large and rapidly growing market. We see great potential for the future growth and success of Boost Communications, concludes Principal Jon Øyvind Eriksen from Investinor.
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