Hyderabad-based Tanla Solutions, which provides mobile software and services, has acquired a Finland-based firm Openbit OY. Tanla has purchased an 85 per cent stake in the firm for a price of $15.81 million in an all cash transaction, which values the firm at $18.6 million. Tanla has the option to purchase the remaining 15 per cent in two stages after two years.
The acquisition of Openbit gives Tanla access to the formers relationships with leading mobile phone manufacturers and to service operators in over 30 countries. “Openbit gives us an opportunity to serve more customers in the international markets, and fortifies Tanla as a leading mobile solutions organization. We hope to integrate our operations at the earliest to benefit from the tremendous synergies available to us,” chairman and managing director Uday Reddy said.
Tanla is present in three verticals: mobile entertainment, mobile marketing and advertising, mobile payments and interactive TV. It has major operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Dubai and Singapore. “We get 90 per cent of our revenue from our services in the UK market. With the Openbit acquisition, this should come down to about 70 per cent,” said Mr Reddy. “The acquisition of Openbit extends Tanla’s payments portfolio beyond operator billing products to address the emerging market for rich media and business applications on handsets,” he added