Sprint buys Handmark, OneLouder to boost ad service

Sprint Nextel has acquired Handmark and its unit OneLouder Apps to boost its Pinsight Media+ advertising service, the wireless carrier said Monday.

The deal for the mobile app developer and advertising company immediately gives Sprint an experienced advertising team, an ad platform, and top-rated mobile apps that serve millions of customers each day. Handmark and OneLouder will continue to operate under their current brand names and will remain in their current Kansas City location, Sprint said. OneLouder President Evan Conway will lead the company. Handmark founder and CEO Augie Grasis will join a new advisory board to provide direction to Handmark and OneLouder.

Sprint declined to disclose terms of the deal.

Advertising and other services are becoming a bigger focus for wireless companies, particularly as companies figure out how to address the mobile boom. Sprint's Pinsight Media+ has worked to create an advertising ecosystem for advertisers, and Sprint recently unveiled a mobile content, advertising, and retail partnership with Time Inc. In February, Sprint said it joined with Telefonica to discuss collaborating on creating one of the largest mobile advertising alliances in the world.

"As a long-time partner of Sprint, we've worked together on some of the mobile industry's most successful initiatives," Handmark's Grasis said in a press release. "Joining forces is a natural progression to our relationship and will help scale our mobile media business."

Update, 11:10 a.m. PT: Added comment from Sprint spokesman.