New Delhi: Publishing company HT Media Ltd. said it formed a new venture to provide mobile marketing services to other brands, ad agencies and network operators, in collaboration with Velti Plc, a London Stock Exchanged-listed applications and services firm.

HT’s digital subsidiary, Firefly e-Ventures Ltd, will have a 65% stake in the venture, which will be based in Gurgaon, outside Delhi. Amit Garg, the head of Firefly, will also manage the new venture, HT Media said in a statement.

Financial terms of the agreement, signed on Friday, were not disclosed.

The venture marks HT Media’s entry into mobile marketing, and the publisher said the new venture will provide solutions to other media houses as well.

The venture will use Velti’s mobile marketing platform to deliver mobile marketing and advertising services throughout India, which is now the world’s fastest growing mobile market in terms of number of new subscribers added each month.

“We look forward to offering breakthrough and patented mobile based marketing services to our valued customers. It also reinforces our position as India’s leading media house, providing a multi-channel advertising platform across print, radio, internet and mobile,” Rajiv Verma, chief executive officer of HT Media, said in the statement.

HT Media publishes the Hindustan Times, Hindustan and Mint, which together reach some 12 million readers every day. HT also owns Fever 104FM radio network as well as digital offerings such as Shine.com, a jobs portal, and DesiMartini.com, a social networking offering, in addition to hindustantimes.com and Mint’s web offering, LiveMint.com.

“India is a key market for Velti and establishing this JV (joint venture) with the Hindustan Times represents a significant strategic move in our global expansion,” Alex Moukas, CEO of Velti, said.