Mforma pulls in $44 million funding

MFORMA Group, a leading global provider of wireless entertainment, has raised $44 million in its first institutional round of financing co-led by General Catalyst Partners, eFund LLC, and Bessemer Venture Partners. MFORMA will use the new capital to extend its global distribution network. The company provides distribution technology, managed services, and a comprehensive catalogue of entertainment content to more than 60 of the world’s leading wireless operators.

MFORMA was founded in 2001 and established itself first in the US, then Europe, and more recently, Asia through a process of mergers and acquisitions.

According to a report by mobile industry analyst ARC Group, the global market for mobile entertainment services will reach $27 billion and have 2.5 billion users by 2008, while sales of Java-enabled handsets tripled in 2003 to reach 95.5 million units, up from 32 million in 2002. Shipments of devices embedded with Qualcomm’s BREW platform reached 11.6 million in 2003, up from 3.5 million in 2002.