Well, that didn’t last too long. RIM has decided to cut ties with NewBay Software, selling the provider of mobile content delivery technologies to publicly-traded Synchronoss Technologies.

As it turns out, RIM is taking a bit of a bath on the deal, selling NewBay for $55.5 million in cash. That’s about half the $100 million price tag that RIM placed on NewBay just 14 months ago.

Ouch!

Rumors of RIM’s intentions to ditch NewBay started circling a few months ago.

“By adding NewBay’s technology assets and millions of subscribers, this transaction further establishes Synchronoss as the clear leader in providing cloud based mobile content services for mobile operators around the world” said Synchronoss CEO Stephen G. Waldis in a release. He added that the acquisition will help fuel the company’s European expansion.

NewBay is headquarted in Ireland, but it established a North American presence in Seattle in October 2010. It is unclear what will happen to the Seattle operation as a result of the deal. At the time of the opening of the new office, NewBay executive Timo Bauer called Seattle the “mobile Silicon Valley” and pledged to grow its operations in the region, a decision which drew support from Gov. Chris Gregoire.

We’ve reached out to representatives from Synchronoss for more details as it relates to its workforce.

The press release did note that Synchronoss, which is based in New Jersey and boasts a market value of, $794 million, expects a restructuring charge in the first quarter related to the acquisition of NewBay. UPDATE:  A spokeswoman for Synchronoss declined to comment on the plans for the Seattle office, saying more details would be disclosed in a fourth quarter earnings call.

NewBay competes against Motricity, a Bellevue-based company which has been undergoing its own struggles in recent weeks. Both companies provide back-end infrastructure to wireless companies, offering cloud-based services for storing, sharing and organizing digital content. NewBay’s customers include AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and US Cellular.

Back in September, RIM shut down the Seattle contact management service Gist, which it had acquired in February 2011.

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