Mobile Entertainment Leader Waat Media And Award Winning Mobile Games Publisher Charismatix Form Twistbox Entertainment; Raise $12.75 Million In Funding Round Led By Spark Capital
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LOS ANGELES -- (September 12, 2006) - Twistbox Entertainment, Inc. ( www.twistbox.com ) today became the parent company of WAAT Media and Charismatix. In an announcement at the CTIA conference in Los Angeles (Booth #1131), the company said Twistbox will represent the operating unit and brand for all general entertainment activities. Over the next 90 days Charismatix will be rebranded as Twistbox Games. All late night entertainment programming will remain under the WAAT subsidiary.
"We are bringing our current businesses under one overarching brand in order to continue building an internationally recognized, world-class mobile media company," said Ian Aaron, who becomes CEO of Twistbox Entertainment and its subsidiaries. "The new entity will leverage our seven years of experience in mobile content publishing and game development. With more than 400 mobile WAP sites, 50 mobile TV channels and 160 games deployed across 90 carriers in 16 languages, we're in a unique position to bring our content and distribution partners the next generation of mobile entertainment, marketing and advertising."
Boston-based Spark Capital ( www.sparkcapital.com ), a leading digital media venture capital firm, led the $12.75 million funding round for Twistbox. The funds will be used to accelerate the development of its general entertainment category, expand distribution in Asia and explore possible acquisition targets. "While we have seen numerous mobile investment opportunities, Twistbox was a standout. With its proven platform, global distribution and stable of leading brands, it is positioned to take the mobile entertainment market by storm," said Spark Capital General Partner Dennis Miller.
Twistbox Entertainment currently operates in over 40 countries and has opened offices in the UK, France, Germany, Poland and Russia. Los Angeles-based Waat Media, the company's late night entertainment subsidiary, is a finalist in the Mobile Entertainment Magazine Mobile Entertainment Awards this month in London, while Charismatix continues to win numerous awards including the German 2005 Game Developer Award for Best Mobile Game in the Best Action Game category. Charismatix provides the mobile industry's most comprehensive development and porting platform with support for J2ME, DoJa and BREW handsets and support for all languages.
About Twistbox Entertainment, Inc.
Twistbox Entertainment is a global producer and publisher of mobile content. Through our exclusive licenses with industry leading brands and direct distribution with over 90 operators, we provide an extensive portfolio of award-winning games, WAP sites and mobile TV channels to subscribers worldwide. From programming to marketing and game development to portal managementTwistbox is the total solution in mobile entertainment. For more information please visit www.twistbox.com .
About Spark Capital
Spark Capital is a venture capital fund investing in ideas, entrepreneurs and companies building businesses that transform the distribution, management and monetization of media and content. Spark's General Partners are successful natives of the media and technology industries, and have proven track records identifying, and actively building market leading companies in sectors including infrastructure (Qtera, RiverDelta, Aether Systems, Broadbus, and BigBand), networks (College Sports Television, TVONE and XCOM) and content delivery systems (Akamai).With deep relationships in technology and media, investing and operations, Spark Capital is uniquely positioned to provide world-class entrepreneurs and revolutionary companies with the intelligence, network and resources needed to succeed in today's marketplace. With $260 million in funding, Spark Capital is acutely focused on investment strategies that are at the nexus of content, distribution and technology. To learn more, visit www.sparkcapital.com .