Taiwanese
mobile phone maker HTC announced on June 7, 2010 that it is acquiring 100%
stake in Abaxia for 11 million Euros (US$13.2 million; US$1=0.84 Euros), according
to an Economic Daily News report on June 8. Abaxia, headquartered in Paris, is
a mobile software developer for telecommunication network operators and mobile
phone manufacturers. HTC said that the contract will be signed between HTC's French
subsidiary and Abaxia, and HTC plans to close the deal at the end of June 2010.
Since
HTC started to focus on own-brand business, the company bought San
Francisco-based design house One &Co in December 2008 to strengthen its
design capabilities. HTC has cooperated with Abaxia for years on developing
software for HTC phones. With the acquisition of Abaxia, HTC expects to enhance
its software development capabilities and accelerate the pace of innovation.