MUMBAI: Motorola has signed a deal to acquire Soundbuzz, a privately held, leading pan-Asian music provider. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008. The acquisition of Soundbuzz allows Motorola to expand Motomusic beyond China, into India, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

With Motomusic, Motorola has more than two years of experience delivering mobile music to consumers with its carrier customers in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. With well over 90 percent of all digital music content in Asia sold via mobile channels, a level expected to remain in the coming years, Motorola’s strength in music delivery will help its carrier customers access this growth opportunity.

“We are very pleased to announce this transaction with Soundbuzz. It will provide Motorola with one of the most extensive music libraries in the Asia Pacific region, advance our music and video offerings in Australia and South East Asia, and build on the success of our Motomusic Services in China,” said, Motorola senior vice president, future solutions and technology for mobile devices, Bill Werner.

“Motorola’s dedication to enhancing the digital music experience in Asia complements our own objectives and makes it the ideal partner,” said Soundbuzz CEO Sudhanshu Sarronwala.

Headquartered in Singapore, Soundbuzz has access to one of the most extensive music libraries in the Asia-Pacific region, through licenses from Sony BMG, EMI, Warner Music International and Universal Music Group, as well as over 45 independent record labels in Asia, the U.S. and Europe. Motorola intends to maintain Soundbuzz’s Singapore headquarters, which will be an integral component of Motorola’s digital music development strategy in Asia.