MonsterMob board recommends LaNetro Zed bid

Board members at U.K. ringtone and mobile games developer MonsterMob urged shareholders to stick by Spanish rival LaNetro Zed's £34m takeover bid, despite indications that Chinese firm Linktone was prepared to pay as much as £43.8 for the company. The MonsterMob board said in a statement to shareholders that without a firm offer from Linktone, they should accept the Zed bid, which "provides a solution to MonsterMob's funding needs." LaNetro Zed requires 75 percent shareholder approval to complete the deal, which it calls a "strategic investment" rather than a full-scale takeover bid.

Linktone entered the MonsterMob picture just last week, admitting it was pondering a bid but never actually pulling the trigger. A bid would have made sense, at least in principle: MonsterMob last year acquired Chinese mobile content providers W-Infinity Communications and M Dream. Zed also maintains a Chinese presence, however, and now operates in 16 countries worldwide.

For more on the board members' statement:
- read this Yorkshire Post article