Atchik and Realtime Merge As Atchik-Realtime To Lead The Mobile Services Market




Two major players in the mobile services market merge to form a global leader: Atchik-Realtime

Toulouse, France and Copenhagen, Denmark -/September 1, 2005 - Wi-Fi Technology News/- Atchik and Realtime announced their merger, and the birth of a new leader in mobile messaging services. The new entity, Atchik-Realtime, benefits from the complementary expertise of each of the companies, and paves the way for the creation of an unchallenged leader in the mobile services market.

Atchik and Realtime, the story of two mobile service leaders

Created in 1999, Atchik is a French company, which has established itself as an expert in the mobile applications sector. Atchik provides its white-label mobile services to telecom operators and Internet Service Providers, in 30 countries throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. This range of services consists of chat forums, dating, games, information, as well as photo and video applications, strengthened by state-of-the-art moderation and service management.



Also created in 1999, Realtime is a Danish company, specialising in mobile services and portals. As a provider of value-added mobile services, Realtime offers mobile operators, media groups and Internet Service Providers, white-label chat and dating services, Java games, content as well as turnkey portals. Such portals are available on WAP and SIM browsing, making a unique user-friendly solution. More than 100 million subscribers today have access to Realtime?s services throughout Europe, the Middle East and Latin America.

Atchik-Realtime, a World Leader is born!

The two companies have a shared history. In 1999 their respective founders, at the time all working in Denmark, raised the idea to set up a company together. This project didn?t bear fruit, and it was separately that over the last 6 years each of the companies established themselves, experiencing steady growth and development. Now, at a time when the global market of mobile services is consolidating, the two companies have decided through this merger to pool their respective expertise, and follow a joint growth strategy at an international level. This gives birth to a key player in the mobile messaging market: Atchik-Realtime.

Backed by their historical investors: Innovacom, IRDI, SOCRI, FCPI-CIC Innovation for Atchik, and GemVentures and TDC Innovation for Realtime, the new entity has the financial strength and the necessary expertise to become a world leader.

?We welcome the merger of Atchik and Realtime, two companies with proven track records of high growth, with the strength to operate at an international level. The new Atchik-Realtime already has the required expertise to become a world leader: a proven & committed management team, experienced employees, and a portfolio of prestigious customers in over 50 countries? says Guan Hwang, Principal, Gemventures.

Atchik-Realtime: complementary offers & markets

With the high quality of its innovative services meeting end-user expectations, and a complementary market footprint and product portfolio, Atchik-Realtime capitalises on the assets of the two originating companies, to establish itself as a global leader. Thanks to a strong presence in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, and a 2005 turnover estimated in excess of 15 million Euros, the Group has what it takes to make its mark on a rapidly growing market. The outlook for the mobile data services market is extremely promising. According to various analysts, this market represents a potential of 150 to 200 billion Euros within the next 3 years, half of which will be due to messaging - the heart of the Atchik-Realtime positioning.

?With the two companies having obtained a certain maturity in a highly competitive market, we were looking to reinforce our positioning as mobile services specialists in that market. The merger of Atchik-Realtime indeed enables us to capitalise on complementary product offers, as well as a large international presence allowing us to be close to our clients throughout the world, with offices in France, Denmark, UK, Spain, Oman, Egypt, Brazil and Mexico? states Bertrand Darrouzet, CEO Atchik-Realtime. ?We affirm our strategy of making Atchik-Realtime the global leader in the field of mobile messaging?.

Atchik-Realtime: becomes THE reference for mobile messaging

Atchik-Realtime is currently present in over 50 countries, and as of today more than 50 operators will benefit from its offers and services. With a strong presence in the emerging markets (Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle-East), as well as in Latin America where mobile services are highly popular among the predominantly young population, the Group has invaluable knowledge and experience in adapting to the cultural characteristics of each country. The future of mobile services lies in this capacity of service providers to address specific cultural characteristics, giving Atchik-Realtime a clear advantage.

About Atchik-Realtime:

Atchik-Realtime is a Franco-Danish Group, providing applications and services for mobile phones.

With over 120 employees throughout the world, and a turnover for 2005 estimated at more than 15 million Euros, Atchik-Realtime was created on 26th August 2005, through the merger of the two mobile services experts Atchik and Realtime.

Offering white-label services to mobile operators, media groups, and Internet Service Providers, Atchik-Realtime is a global leader in the area of mobile messaging (text, images, sound, and video).

Over 50 operators throughout 50 countries worldwide already use its services (chat forums, dating, games, information services, mobile photo applications and turnkey portals), as well as the moderation and service management provided by Atchik-Realtime. This high quality offer allows Atchik-Realtime customers to generate mobile usage in a safe and clean environment. In effect, the Group provides one of the most comprehensive solutions in the field of mobile messaging.

The Management Team of Atchik-Realtime

Chief Executive Officer - Bertrand Darrouzet (co-founder of Atchik)

Products Marketing & Business Development Director - Martin Svensson (co-founder of Realtime)

Technical Director - Guillaume Sanchez (co-founder of Atchik)

Sales Director - Steven Tynan (previously Commercial Director of Realtime)

Financial & Administration Director - Sok Tran (previously Financial Director of Atchik)