Nielsen to acquire Telephia Inc

MUMBAI: Global information and media major, Nielsen Company on Monday announced an agreement to acquire San Francisco-based Telephia Inc, a provider of syndicated consumer research to telecom and mobile media markets.

Terms of the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval and expected to close in the third quarter, were not disclosed. Both companies are privately-held companies.

This transaction would accelerate Nielsen's strategy of providing clients worldwide with the most accurate measurement and analysis of consumer behaviour and media use across all platforms, a release issued here today stated.

Telephia serves over 100 clients in the US, Canada and Europe from all sectors of the telecom and mobile media markets, including mobile operators, device manufacturers, retailers, infrastructure vendors, investment analysts and content providers.

The company provides independent, technology-based measurements of consumer behaviour, product quality and consumer attitudes, and is the mobile industry's standard for subscriber market share, network quality, consumer satisfaction and mobile media consumption.

The acquisition provides Nielsen with an entry into measurement services for the estimated USD 350-billion mobile sector, where telecom and media are quickly converging.

Telephia expands Nielsen's ability to measure the rapidly-expanding mobile content delivery industry, where today there are more than 232-million wireless subscribers in the US.

The company has recognised brands in marketing information, media information, trade shows and business publications and is present in over 100 countries.