Text voting firm Xiam sells for €21m

XIAM, a Dublin-based technology company, has been sold for €20.8m.

The company, which provides the text message voting service for the RTÉ show You’re A Star, was bought by the US-listed telecoms giant Qualcomm.

Xiam has an existing relationship with Qualcomm having signed an agreement last year to supply the company with its My Personal Offers System technology to target individuals with personalised advertising over mobile phones.

The takeover of the company, which was loss-making according to its most recent accounts, will provide an exit for its investors. They are the company’s management led by Enterprise Ireland and venture capital firm Delta Partners.

According to the accounts for the year ended June 2006, the company had a deficit of shareholders’ funds of €1.4m, which was up from €309,000 in the previous financial year. The 2006 accounts said the company had received a €500,000 loan from its shareholders and it was anticipating an improvement in sales.

Qualcomm said the takeover would be neutral to its earnings per share for fiscal 2008.

Qualcomm said in a statement: “Qualcomm’s acquisition of Xiam provides us with advanced content discovery and recommendation technology that strengthens Qualcomm’s services portfolio. We are excited to further demonstrate our ongoing commitment to operators, brands and consumers.”