Shares of mobile app developer Vringo jumped nearly fifty percent on Monday after it was revealed that billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner mark Cuban had acquired a major stake in the company.
In a filing with the SEC on Friday, Cuban disclosed ownership of 1.03 million outstanding shares, representing a 7.4% stake in the New York-based provider of software products for mobile video entertainment, personalization, and mobile social applications.
Vringo stock (VRNG) soared 40%, or $1.23, to $4.27 in midday trades Monday with volume of 10.3 million — more than five times the issue’s trailing three-month daily average of 2 million.
Based on Friday’s close at $3.04, Vringo shares were already up more than 200% so far in 2012 with the majority of that appreciation coming since a March 30 close at $1.65.
With his acquisition, Cuban, who made his fortune by selling Broadcast.com to Yahoo! Inc. ($5.9 billion) at the height of the dotcom bubble, becomes the company’s largest shareholder. The second largest shareholder is hedge fund Iroquois Capital LP with a 6.4% stake.
“Forbes” estimates Cuban’s fortune at $2.3 billion, putting him in 459th place in its 2012 billionaires list.
According to The Street, Vringo went public in June 2010 at $4.60 a share, and it lost $7.5 million in 2011 with revenue totaling $718,000.
In February, the company said that its Facetones app, a visual ringtone based on pictures from a user’s friends, reached one million downloads.
Vringo is expected to report its first-quarter results on April 23. via The Street
