Mobile payment outfit Boku has acquired Estonian direct carrier billing service provider Fortumo for a maximum consideration of $45m.
The deal is said to be a key step in Boku’s global direct carrier billing (DCB) growth strategy.
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The two companies are said to have complementary capabilities and customer base.
The consideration includes cash payment of $37.6m, around $2m in restricted stock units payable to Fortumo’s selling equity holders and another cash payment of up to $5.4m.
The deal will be financed with a share placing of almost $25m as well as new bank facilities of around $20m.
Fortumo CEO Martin Koppell said: “With a joint strategy, we will be able to better help merchants grow their presence across the world. This also represents a fundamental shift in the Direct Carrier Billing market as the reach, complexity, quality and time-to-market for the solutions we build together will be unmatched.”
Boku expects the takeover to immediately add to its earnings.
The firm’s CEO Jon Prideaux calls Fortumo a “cultural fit” with compatible technology.
Prideaux noted: “This deal, which will be our sixth, cements our position as the scale player in Direct Carrier Billing.”
Fortumo offers mobile payment solutions to more than 400 small-to-medium sized enterprises. Larger merchants like Google, Amazon and Tencent are also among Fortumo’s clients.
The firm’s staff headcount is 73.
On the other hand, Boku mainly caters to large digital merchants including Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, PayPal, Spotify, and Sony.
Boku’s platform is connected to billing, identity and sales systems of over 200 mobile wallets and network operators.
