(By Balaseshan) Struggling internet company Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) is buying mobile personalization app creator Alike for an undisclosed sum in a move to boost its presence in the mobile space.
Mobile strategies of Internet companies are becoming more important as consumers are using smartphones and tablets to access the content.
"At Alike, we've spent the last couple of years working hard to build amazing mobile experiences to delight our customers, which is why we're thrilled to announce some big news: we're joining Yahoo! Mobile," Alike disclosed the deal on its Web page.
Alike said in the blog that it will no longer support the Alike Nearby iPhone and Web apps as of Tuesday. Alike offered consumers ways to find nearby restaurants and places they'll like. This is similar to Facebook's (NASDAQ: FB) approach in tagging the things around your areas of interest.
On December 12, 2012, according to the Paragon Report, Mobile advertising has been garnering increased attention in 2012 as companies look to profit from the rapidly rising demand for mobile devices.
According to data from StatCounter Inc. mobile devices represent more than 10% of all internet traffic, a sharp increase from the 4% in January 2011. Digital marketing and media research firm eMarketer predicts that U.S. mobile advertising revenues will experience rapid growth in the coming years.
The research group has projected that U.S. mobile advertising revenues to more than quadruple from the $1.45 billion seen in 2011 to $6.62 billion in 2014, and to be worth nearly $12 billion by 2016.
YHOO is trading up 1.78% at $21.27 on Tuesday. The stock has been trading between $14.35 and $21.40 for the past 52 weeks.