BEIJING, Dec. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- US-based software developer PalmSource Inc. said Wednesday it had entered agreement to acquire China MobileSoft Ltd. in a bid to extend its market as a software provider for cell phones and mobile devices.

    Under the agreement, the NASDAQ-listed PalmSource will issue approximately 1,570,000 shares of common stock in exchange for the outstanding equity and rights to acquire equity in MobileSoft, a leading Chinese mobile phone software company.

    Analysts estimated the deal at about US$21.9 million, based on PalmSource¡¯s closing share price of US$13.97 on NASDAQ on Wednesday.

    The transaction was expected to close before the end of PalmSource¡¯s third fiscal quarter ending Feb. 28, subject to approval by MobileSoft shareholders, the U.S. company said.

    ¡°We are very excited about joining PalmSource to create the world¡¯s first truly global mobile software company,¡± Madeline Duva, CEO of MobileSoft, said in a joint statement.

    MobileSoft, based in the eastern city of Nanjing, has developed a wide range of software for mobile phones and is working on a version of Linux optimized for mobile devices.

    PalmSource is the company behind Palm OS, a leading operating system powering mobile information devices. So far, about 36 million mobile phones in the world are using the system, including household brands like Samsung and Sony.

(Shenzhen Daily)