Yandex acquires SPB Software to drive mobile search strategy

Russian search giant Yandex has acquired mobile solutions developer SPB Software. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, although a source tells TechCrunch the purchase price totals approximately $38 million.

SPB Software offers a series of cross-platform mobile applications spanning m-commerce, gaming and related services. Yandex states it will leverage the firm's signature SPB Shell 3D user interface to integrate its cloud services and technologies, promising users more efficient access to its mobile search tools.

As of the third quarter of 2011, Yandex controls 62.7 of the Russian search market, ahead of Google (NASDAQ:GOOG). Yandex recently announced an agreement with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Nokia (NYSE:NOK), HTC and Samsung Electronics to serve as the default search engine on new and forthcoming Windows Phone devices optimized for Russian subscribers.

For more:
- read this release
- read this TechCrunch article

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