The Hyperfactory announced this morning that it has completed full alignment with leading US media and marketing company Meredith Corporation, publisher of Better Homes and Gardens, Parents, Ladies’ Home Journal, Family Circle, American Baby, Fitness and More, one year after Meredith took a strategic stake in the company. This is PR speak for the fact that The Hyperfactory has been 100% acquired.

The Hyperfactory specializes in “powering businesses and brands through the mobile medium with award winning, innovative and strategically creative initiatives.” The Hyperfactory was founded in 2001 by the Handley brothers and is a mobile marketing company with two distinct divisions:

  • Agency: Powering brands through integrated mobile strategy, creative, media and innovation.
  • Technology: Powering businesses through planning, integration and deployment of mobile technology, regardless of the platform, protocol or device.

Derek and Geoff Handley are 32 and 35 years old respectively, and the sale of the remaining 80% of the Hyperfactory should net them a few tens of millions each.

This is a great win for NZ inc, with a strong proviso. As Dave ten Have, Founder of another Kiwi company going places, Ponoko, said:

dth1

We need the Handleys to bring their new found millions back to New Zealand in order to enable a new generation of entrepreneurs to compete on the world stage. The problem with large exits is that they do little to encourage the “rinse and repeat” cycle – when a founder has enough money to afford his private jet and pad on a Caribbean island somewhere, it’s unlikely he’ll be motivated to come back and do it again. Exits in the tens of millions are great as they encourage reinvestment.

So congratulations Derek and Geoff – have a holiday but let’s see you back here ready to get stuck in again huh?

Ben Kepes

Ben Kepes is a technology evangelist, an investor, a commentator and a business adviser. Ben covers the convergence of technology, mobile, ubiquity and agility, all enabled by the Cloud. His areas of interest extend to enterprise software, software integration, financial/accounting software, platforms and infrastructure as well as articulating technology simply for everyday users.

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