Shares of Napster Inc. gained Tuesday after cell phone maker Nokia Corp. announced it acquired digital music distributor Loudeye Corp., driving speculation that Napster may be the subject of a similar acquisition or merger, BusinessWeek.com reported. Napster’s stock climbed 19 cents, or 7 percent, to $2.90 in midday trading on the Nasdaq. In the past year, the company’s stock traded between $2.55 and $5.10.
Los Angeles-based Napster offers an on-line music store and subscription service. In June, Napster inked a deal to combine its catalog and brand with technology from Swedish telecom company LM Ericsson to deliver digital music to cell phones and other mobile devices.
