India-based telecommunications company Spice Mobility is to acquire an additional 10.8% stake in mobile services subsidiary Spice Digital from fabless semiconductor producer MediaTek, VCCircle has reported.
MediaTek sold its stake for $5.25m, according to a Bombay Stock Exchange filing seen by VCCircle, roughly a quarter of the $20m it invested in Spice Digital in 2011. Spice Mobility will increase its stake in Spice Digital from 89% to approximately 100% once the deal closes.
Formerly known as Cellebrum Technologies, Spice Digital provides a range of value added services for mobile phone users, often through mobile apps, covering areas such as music, commerce, information and educational services.
The Reserve Bank of India recently granted Spice Digital permission to process bill payments under the Bharat Bill Payment System.
Spice Digital also has a digital wallet license that allows it to run its Spice Money digital wallet service, which began to process payments over the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System in January.