Altruist Technologies to acquire Mobisoft

Chandigarh based mobile value added services company Altruist Technologies is all set to acquire Mobisoft Telesesolutions, better known as Phoneytunes.com, a 13 year old New Delhi based mobile applications company for an undisclosed amount.

“The transaction is under process and it might take another 3 to 4 weeks for completion,” Dheeraj Aggarwal, CEO, Altruist Technologies told Voice&Data.

Confirming the development Taron Mohan, CEO, Mobisoft said, “It is under process and we will announce this in a couple of weeks time.”

Though both the companies refused to disclose the value of the deal, sources close to the development estimate the value to be in the range of Rs55 to Rs 65 crore.

Though the structure of the acquisition is not known, it is believed that, the Chandigarh based VAS company is taking over close to 70% stake in Mobisoft for an unknown amount. The assets transfer including the transfer of manpower from Mobisoft to Altruist is already under process.

But the transaction could enter into rough waters as there is growing concern among the employees and board of directors over the said acquisition.

Upon asking, Aggarwal of Altruist admitted the complexity of the deal and said that there are some 'internal issues' and the whole matter is 'technical subjudice' but he is hopeful to overcome that in next few weeks.

“We'll get a clear picture on November 10 when the Mobisoft board meets and we are sure of a smooth closer of the deal,” added Aggarwal, CEO of Altruist.

Mobisoft, is one of India's oldest VAS firms and has expertise in some innovative mobile applications. Some major products of Mobisoft include content an dportal management solutions, online charging gateway, SMS router and VAS Kiosk.

Couple of months back the Altruist group picked up 20% stake in Vegam Solutions, a mobile VAS retail and voice gaming company founded by Ingersol Jayakumar, previously the national business head, VAS, Tata Teleservices. The company will provide Vegam Solutions with platform support.

Besides this, the Chandigarh based VAS company is at present in acquisition talks with a US based company, which would see adequate expansion in the overall business space. “The company has earmarked $25 mn for this acquisition,” said Aggarwal. In the last one year, the company made 2 acquisitions-Mumbai based Mobile2Win was acquired on a share swap basis and US based RelayStrategy through an all-cash deal.

The company is also planning to increase its headcount from 200 to 300. In FY11 the company registered a revenue of Rs77 crore and is planning to touch Rs120 crore by FY12. The firm is also contemplating an IPO the end of 2013, precisely when the company achieves a turnover of Rs 200 crore.