Yahoo Aims to Move Beyond PC With Deal

SAN FRANCISCO —  Yahoo Inc. said Monday that it had acquired WUF Networks Inc., a small start-up whose technology aims to let consumers move their songs, photos and other digital content from their computers to devices such as mobile phones.

The deal underscores Yahoo’s strategy of trying to make its dozens of services -- including digital music, instant messaging and streaming video -- more widely available not just on personal computers but also on any device connected to the Internet.

Yahoo spokeswoman Joanna Stevens declined to say how much the company paid for 1-year-old WUF Networks. The Redwood City, Calif., firm was mentioned in a document about stock compensation that Yahoo filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Yahoo confirmed that it purchased WUF Networks on Nov. 2, but Stevens declined to give specifics about what Yahoo planned to do with the company, which she said had fewer than a dozen employees.

“We expect to use their technology and expertise to continue to extend key Yahoo services beyond the desktop,” she said.

As the growth of broadband networks propels the market for multimedia content, Yahoo is jockeying for position with software companies such as Microsoft Corp. and cable companies such as Comcast Corp. by striking deals to make its services accessible on mobile phones and TV set-top boxes.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo last month expanded an alliance with SBC Communications Inc. designed to bring new services onto phones and digital video recorders.

“Mobile is a very big part of their strategy because it allows them to extend beyond the Web, to touch the customer offline,” said Charlene Li, a principal analyst with Forrester Research.

Before Yahoo scooped it up, WUF Networks had not released any commercial services of its own.

Yamaha Corp. in Japan had licensed the company’s technology but did not develop a product, Stevens said.