Japanese mobile merger makes for big new player

KDDI’s cellphone advertising unit Mediba is to take over the tech start-up for US$19.2 million in a deal that will see KDDI effectively buy its way to second place in Japanese smartphone ad distribution. With three billion impressions a month, the company will still trail Google’s AdMob, which holds the top spot in the market.   

In its own press release following the KDDI announcement, Nobot says the company is looking to launch an office in Singapore by the end of 2011. The company’s expansion plans for Korea, Indonesia and Vietnam will also be bolstered by the takeover news.  Mediba itself has plans to install a new system by year-end that will tailor the distribution of ads based on how users interact with their phones.