11/02/2009
Zlango pursuing talks about financing or merger opportunities, CEO says

Zlango, the privately held Israel-based provider of mobile messaging icons, is seeking venture capital or a merger partner, said CEO Yoav Lorch.
The company has retained Allegro Advisors for a fundraising and is open to hiring a bank for merger negotiations, Lorch said. The company would be interested in conversations with Allen & Co and ThinkEquity, he said. Zlango's lawyer is Yigal Arnon.
A separate source, who is familiar with the company's strategy, said Zlango is in merger talks with handset manufacturers. Zlango makes software that enables greater use of pictures and icons over mobile messaging.
Beyond the current talks, it is possible Zlango would be interested in talking to potential buyers that have an instant messaging platform or social network looking to extend into the mobile vertical. These could include companies like Sybase 365 in Dublin, California and VeriSign in Mountain View, California, the source speculated.
Zlango has received USD 12m in venture capital from Benchmark Capital and Accel Partners. It is in the process of raising another USD 6m, USD 3m of which is already committed, Lorch said. A year ago, Lorch told this news service it was seeking venture financing.
Zlango is open to M&A prior to the fundraising or after, Lorch said. The startup is hoping for "creative" deal-making, in which the founders may continue to grow Zlango even if part of a larger organization. "This is a special time. We want partners open to flexible deals and dialogues with investors who have senses of humor and are optimistic."
Lorch expects Zlango's next venture capital round to carry it to break-even.
Zlango currently serves handsets in the France, German, Italy, Malaysia, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Ukraine. The company does not have a presence in North America, the source said.
The four-year old company has about 35 employees, he said. Its SMS technology, which displays color images for a better user experience, supports more than 20 different languages on roughly 500 handsets.

By Sarah Cohen and Monique Lewis