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MobileSys and mBlox Raise $8 Million and Merge to Create Global Mobile Messaging/SMS Powerhouse SUNNYVALE, Calif. & LONDON, England--June 24, 2003--MobileSys Inc., a US provider of Short Message Services (SMS) to corporations, today announced a merger with mBlox Ltd, Europe's leading SMS services provider, and the successful closing of $8 million (US) in venture capital and private equity to finance planned expansion. The round was led by Norwest Venture Partners and other participants included Novus Ventures, Duff Ackerman Goodrich and BA Venture Partners. The company will combine complimentary product offerings and global mobile messaging expertise from each organization, retain the mBlox name and maintain operations in London, Sunnyvale and Hong Kong. mBlox will be led by MobileSys CEO Chip Hoffman, with mBlox CEO Andrew Bud serving as chairman and head of global operations. The merger creates the market's largest global SMS transmission network. The combined company will deliver even greater value to its global content and service provider customers. It enables them to leverage their brands and content globally, and overcome the complexities of multiple operators, networks and technologies. mBlox enterprise customers will benefit from reduced costs, faster and more secure communications and increased mobile worker productivity. SMS is a huge and fast-growing media channel in Europe, where content services and marketing now provide a substantial portion of the 10 billion messages sent every month. The US has recently introduced the service, with message volumes already exceeding 1 billion per month and forecast to approach European levels within the next 18-24 months. "Attracting an investment in this market is a testament to the strength and value proposition of the combined companies. The merger creates a financially strong global player from two complementary technology companies. mBlox has been a profitable company since early 2002 and has made a major impact in the European market. Combined with MobileSys' premier position amongst the Fortune 100, the new company will be in a strong position as the US market for SMS explodes," said lead investor Robert Abbott of Norwest Venture Partners. "This merger of two strong leaders, fuelled by a major investment, creates a technical and financial powerhouse in the SMS services market," said Bud. "This sector is ready for consolidation and with our financial muscle and market position we will drive this process forward. Content and service providers are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to leverage their brands and content across both continents. Only mBlox can help them make it happen." "Our shared vision is to become the world's number one provider of SMS and wireless messaging transmission services to content and service providers and enterprises worldwide," said Hoffman. "These customers and mobile operators will be excited by the geographical coverage, commercial strength and focus of the company this merger has created." About MobileSys Headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA., MobileSys (www.MobileSys.com) provides a global wireless data network that enables secure, efficient delivery of data worldwide to virtually any device, including mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), land line phones, and pagers. MobileSys has more than 700 customers worldwide, including Cisco Systems Inc., Citibank, Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS), Ericsson Mobile Communications, Ford Motor Co., Hewlett-Packard Co., Intel Corp., Johnson & Johnson Inc., LSI Logic Corp., Motorola Inc., QUALCOMM Inc. and Siebel Systems Inc. About mBlox mBlox (www.mblox.com) is Europe's leading provider of SMS infrastructure services to the content and applications industry. The company makes the task of sending and receiving SMS simple, reliable and cost effective, freeing clients from the commercial and technical complexities that can cost so much time and effort. Companies use the mBlox standard and premium-rate outbound and inbound SMS services to provide information, entertainment and communications services to consumers or enterprise staff.