India’s Mauj Mobile, which is part of digital giant People Group, has acquired UK-based Mobango, a mobile application store, to bolster its presence in the value-added services (VAS) market.
Badri Sanjeevi, COO of Mauj and Group CFO of People Group,…
India’s Mauj Mobile, which is part of digital giant People Group, has acquired UK-based Mobango, a mobile application store, to bolster its presence in the value-added services (VAS) market.
Badri Sanjeevi, COO of Mauj and Group CFO of People Group, declined to give a specific price, but told TelecomFinance that the sale for 100% of the target’s equity was for several million dollars.
He said that Mauj, a company backed by VC firms Sequoia and Intel, “funded the acquisition through internal resources”.
Mobango is itself funded by venture capital firms Doughty Hansen and Innogest and was founded by Fabio Pezzoti in 2006 in Italy and was later moved to the UK.
Mauj believes consumption of data-based services in India is due to soar on the back of cheap, feature-rich smartphones in the country and the advent of 3G. Using the acquisition, it aims to provide customers in India with more applications and user generated content.
However, Sanjeevi said Mauj had no immediate plans for future acquisitions, adding: “Mauj is working to integrate Mobango operations with that of its own and will endeavor to make it a success.
“Given impending 3G rollouts in India and the overall growth in mobile internet adoption, Mauj will continue to invest in platforms and services that position Mauj to take full advantage of these developments.”
In a statement, People Group CEO Anupam Mittal said: “Mobango is a pioneer of the rapidly growing Pay Per Download (PPD) business model and is one of the world’s largest independent app-store, so we are obviously very excited to round off our Applications, Content & Communities offering.”
Mobango founder Pezzoti added: “With Mauj and Mobango coming together, customers and partners of both the companies will benefit through a broader choice of products and services.”
