Thailand's Buzz buys sports firm and signs VoIP deals

Thu May 29 2008, 09:09 AM

Thai internet firm Buzz Technologies claims to have acquired a content and software company that provides live updates on football games. Buzz, which claims to have surpassed Google as Thailand's leading online ad supplier, does not disclose the name, location or value of the purchased company. In a statement, it describes the firm as having 6,000 subscribers who generate an average of USD150,000 per month. The service is reportedly available in Thai, English and Chinese and is expected to make more revenue from advertising than subscription.

Deal Details

The deal follows news that Buzz, which is based in Phuket, has inked a deal with a union of Chinese internet cafes to install its VoIP technology on the shops' computers. The agreement with Green Power Internet Cafe Union covers more than 10,000 PCs in more than 50 cybercafes, bringing the total number of public PCs that feature Buzz's web-based VoIP software to more than 40,000. This is still a fraction of the 6m to 10m computers that China's internet cafes are estimated to have, according to VoIP Monitor.

Buzz provides online advertising, search and web-based VoIP services. The company recently launched in China in a bid to rival market leaders Baidu and Google and has plans to expand its ad services to print and TV.