LinkShare, Sonera Sign International Licensing Agreement

Affiliate marketing company LinkShare signed a licensing agreement with Sonera, a Helsinki, Finland-based telecommunications company with subsidiaries and associated companies in 14 countries.

Sonera, a provider of mobile, data and media communications, will implement and manage Finland’s first affiliate marketing program, powered by LinkShare. Financial arrangements were not disclosed.

LinkShare facilitates e-commerce by providing merchants with the tools and technology to cross-refer their customers. Clients include Borders.com, Cyberian Outpost, dELiA*s, Dell, Esprit. The Sharper Image, and Virtual Vineyards, among others.

Sonera said that before entering the rest of the European market, the program would be launched this year in Finland, a market with high Internet and mobile penetration.

“The agreement with Sonera marks LinkShare’s emergence into the international arena of e-commerce that holds the promise of extraordinary growth,” said Jerome H. Kern, CEO of LinkShare.

“Due to its state-of-the-art technology and innovative approach to e-commerce, LinkShare was a natural choice for facilitating Sonera’s affiliate network in Finland,” said Ilkka Aura, director of business development at Sonera. Sonera Plaza is a portal site in Finland that claims more than 700,000 unique visitors and over 20 million page views per month.