US-based mobile payment company Mopay, which is backed by T-Venture and Holtzbrinck, the respective corporate venturing units of Germany-based Deutsche Telekom and media group Georg von Holtzbrinck, has been acquired by competitor Boku.
No financial information about the deal was disclosed. Boku claimed the acquisition will make it the largest standalone provider of carrier billing-based mobile payment services in the world.
Mopay’s investors also included DFJ Esprit, the European affiliate of venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson.
Ingo Lippert, chief executive of Mopay, said: “This is a merger from strength. Both companies have strong growth plans, but felt that our customers would be best served by coming together to build a market leading mobile payments platform.”
As a result of the deal, Boku will now offer mobile payments in more than 80 countries around the world, equating to a potential customer base of 5 billion consumers. Eventually, the companies will merge operations and operate under the Boku brand.