Fictionwise Scoops up Motricity's eReader Unit

• Posted: Sunday, January 13, 2008
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• Author: pradhana
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• Filed under: Digital Content, Merger-Acquisition, Mobile Content, Online Services

Independent eBook retailer Fictionwise announced an agreement with Motricity to acquire the mobile content solutions provider's eReader.com electronic book business unit. Financial terms were not disclosed. The eReader catalog includes more than 23,000 titles and interoperates with a variety of handheld devices. It makes eReader.com to be the one of the largest and longest-running eBook retailers on the Internet, with a large customer base.

Fictionwise said it plans to maintain eReader.com as an independent website while expanding the product for compatibility across an even wider array of devices, giving customers the flexibility to read on whatever devices they currently own, with the ability to transfer their purchases to future devices.

"eReader.com is one of the crown jewels of the eBook world," commented Steve Pendergrast, co-founder of Fictionwise, Inc. "With this acquisition, Fictionwise breaks into the very top ranks of the eBook retail market. Synergies between our business units will open the door to some very interesting developments for our customers in the coming months."

"Over the years, eReader.com nurtured and grew a loyal following of customers while pioneering methods to help raise the general adoption and consumption of eBooks," said Chris Chuang, Vice President of Strategic Development for Motricity. "eReader.com is a strong strategic fit with Fictionwise, not only in terms of the additional customer footprint it brings, but also in that Fictionwise is acquiring some of the leading technologies and infrastructure in the eBooks market."

Fictionwise plans to maintain eReader.com as an independent web site to capitalize on the strong brand and loyal customer base achieved by the site. However, Fictionwise plans to build on the success of the eReader eBook format by expanding the product to function on an even wider range of handheld devices, allowing customers the flexibility to read on whatever devices best meet their needs. [FierceWireless]

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