OnMobile to acquire Voxmobili, enter mobile marketing

The mobile VAS company has bought Voxmobili for Rs 150 crore, and is also setting up a mobile marketing division headed by Debraj Tripathy

OnMobile, the mobile VAS (value added services) technology company based in Bangalore, is acquiring Voxmobili SA, a French company in the same business. The deal, awaiting approval, is worth Rs 150 crore. Voxmobili, founded in 1999, provides technology for VAS services such as online phone backup, publishing tools and instant email. OnMobile is also setting up a mobile marketing team, said Arvind Rao, co-founder and CEO of OnMobile, speaking to agencyfaqs!

OnMobile to acquire Voxmobili, enter mobile marketing

Arvind Rao

Rao confirmed the Voxmobili acquisition, saying, “They have very strong data products. It also opens up doors to Voxmobili’s customers across the globe.” Voxmobili serves customers such as Orange, Cingular, France Telecom, Bellsouth and Wanadoo in the US, UK, Europe and Australia. This is OnMobile’s second acquisition after it bought data company ITfinity in 2006. OnMobile, a leading VAS provider to telecom operators in India, already has subsidiaries in Singapore and Australia. The Voxmobili acquisition will certainly broaden the company’s footprint globally.

OnMobile, which has been serving telecom companies with its technology solutions, is now also entering the mobile marketing space represented in India by companies such as Mobile2win, Hungama Mobile and Mobile Worx. Rao adds, “Our customers have been asking us about mobile marketing services. Now, we are hiring an experienced team for the purpose in Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi.” OnMobile’s mobile marketing division will be headed by Debraj Tripathy, formerly CEO of Sieger Solutions, the marketing and ad sales company of ‘Deccan Chronicle’.

The company, which received an investment of $27.8 million in October 2006 from Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Polygon Investment Partners, is also planning its IPO this fiscal.

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